A Hundred Kisses
by Silva Bramley
Summary: After finding out that Lucy is dying, Natsu hastily promises her that he won't let her go. Not before he's even had the chance to give her a hundred kisses. Follow Natsu (afraid of losing Lucy) and Lucy (afraid of hurting Natsu) and a few others as they embark on a hopeful journey for a cure and deal with difficult feelings along the way. A story told in kisses.
1. You Can't Die

Natsu's knees gave out and he sank onto the couch, his expression one of disbelief. No. This couldn't be.

"Could you say that again?" he asked, not sure if he had heard her right.

Lucy, her cheeks streaked with tears, repeated, "I'm going to die, Natsu. The doctor said that I have the same thing that killed my mother and that it isn't a matter of if, but when I'm going to die. He said I have half a year at most."

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, "But…Wendy…?"

Shaking her head sadly, she said, "She already tried, but there isn't anything she can do."

"No!" he said, jumping to his feet. This wasn't something he was just going to accept. His voice rose to a slightly hysterical note, "No, you can't die."

Lucy just shook her head again and stared at the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks even faster than before.

"Stop crying, Lucy! You can't die. Not yet. We'll figure something out," he shouted. He was angry. This wasn't fair. Not to him and definitely not to Lucy who had to be the sweetest person ever. She was the type of person who would save and befriend an enemy. She didn't deserve something like this. "You can't die because I…"

Lucy looked up at him, wiping her tears away and sniffling. Even now, she was trying to stop crying because he told her not to and she didn't want him to be upset. She was so beautiful. It hurt his heart to look at her and know that the doctor had put a time stamp on her that expired soon.

And, he was so stupid. He was in love with her and had been too hesitant to tell her. Even now, he couldn't tell her. Too many reasons to give him doubt. What if she didn't like him that way? Right now was a horrible time to tell her. He couldn't do that to her.

"What?" she asked. "Because what?"

He covered his face with his hand. No, he couldn't say it.

But, Lucy was concerned. She moved closer to him and pulled his hand away to hold it. "Natsu, what is it? What's the matter?"

Natsu tried to avoid her eyes, but she was clever and managed to catch his gaze. As soon as his eyes met hers, he knew he couldn't resist. Impulsively, he leaned forward and kissed her. He expected her to stiffen or to push him away with an angry shout, but instead she kissed him back with a heated passion.

When they both pulled back, she crumpled into his chest with a gut wrenching sob. He held her close as her body wracked with the ugly sobs and couldn't help tearing up himself.

"I've liked you for so long, Natsu," her words were almost indistinguishable and he had to strain to hear what she was saying. "And, now it's too late."

"No, it's not," he said, shaking her a little. Her lips trembled when he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "We'll figure something out. Nothing can happen to you when I haven't even had a chance to give you a hundred kisses. I want at least that many. I won't let you go even a moment before then. Let's go talk to Porlyusica! She should know something."

"Okay," she said with a sniff. Then, rubbing her hands across her eyes again, "I wish I could stop crying."

He hugged her tight again, cursing himself for not having done something sooner. They could have had so much time together. But, he would make most of the time he had left with her. Whether it was six months or sixty years.

**#1 You Can't Die**

**x  
**

**x  
**

_(I figure that we will soon find out the circumstances that surround Lucy's mom's death, so it is this particular story's canon that she died from a disease. Yup. Also, if you're wondering where the heck my update is for TNLS, I should be updating soon. Hopefully. Thanks for reading!) _


	2. Courage

"Lucy, hurry up!" Natsu called. His neck was sore from turning his head to look back at her frequently. The blonde seemed reluctant to reach the hermit healer's home and had been dragging her feet the whole way.

It was driving him crazy. If he had his way, they would have been there already. Natsu was half tempted to pick her up and carry her on his back while he ran there. But, instead, he slowed down and walked next to her.

"What's up?"

Lucy stared forward and clasped her hands together, "I'm nervous."

"Nervous?" he asked, moving closer to her. She was intoxicating. Everything about her. Her sweet smell. The softness of her skin. The sound of her laugh. Even though he would do everything in his power to save her, he didn't want to waste a minute not being near her.

"I don't want to hear that she can't heal me," Lucy said. Her chin wrinkled in her effort to keep from crying. She was embarrassed about crying so much, even though he had told her not to be. "I don't want to get my hopes up. I'm so scared."

"Don't be scared," he said with an encouraging smile. The corners of her lips turned up, because she always smiled when he smiled at her. Lucy slipped her hand in his and gave his hand a squeeze.

"You can be my courage," she said, laughing at the corniness of the statement. He nodded, taking this seriously, and planted another kiss on her lips.

Cradling the back of her head in his hands and pulling her tight against his chest, he tried to give her all his courage.

"There," he said.

She laughed again and slipped out of his grip, "Let's get this over with, then."

**#2 Courage**


	3. Hopes, Another

"Everyone misses you," he said to the bundle of blankets on the bed. The bundle shifted some but, other than a small sniffle, silence was the only response. Undaunted, he poked what he assumed was the head of the blanket bundle, "Come on."

"No," the bundle said stubbornly. The bundle's voice was raspy and worn out. Natsu sighed and pulled the blanket away. Or at least he tried to. The bundle squealed and tried to roll away. There was a short struggle until his patience waned. Pretty stubborn himself, Natsu set his jaw and managed to yank the blanket off in one strong pull.

After the blanket was removed, Lucy just fell back onto the bed and set her eyes on the ceiling. Natsu sat down next to her and poked her again, "Hey."

"Hey," she said.

"Are you going to avoid everyone forever?" he asked. "You haven't left your house for a week."

She sighed and sat up, "Remember how I said I didn't want to get my hopes up?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I did. And, now I'm dying. Or, still dying," Lucy said. She tried to run a hand through her hair, but it was too unkempt and her fingers got caught in a tangle. Even in this state of disarray, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "I don't want to get their hopes up. I want to die here where no one can see me."

Natsu snorted, "Sounds like a boring way to die."

She glared at him, not appreciating his attempt at humor. He had always been dense. No reason for that to change now, right?

"What?" he asked. "You're supposed to have about six months, right? That'd be a long time to spend alone. You'd probably run out of food before then and have to survive by eating toilet paper."

"That's not funny," she said even as she smiled.

He wanted to keep her smiling, to keep up the banter and watch her face warm with mirth, but he needed her back. His face sliding into the seriousness usually reserved for fights, he said, "Lucy. You can't avoid us like this. We all love you."

"It's unfair, isn't it?" she asked. She lowered her head to study her toes, a look of shame on her face. "I want to do what is best for everyone, but I keep doing the selfish thing."

Natsu paused. What would Levy say in this situation? She was the smart one and would know exactly what to say to make everything better. He couldn't think of anything encouraging or witty or even stupid funny, so he just said the truth, "You're not being selfish."

After a moment of processing this simple sentence, she looked up at him. She had dark rings under her eyes and a horribly sad tilt to her lips. He wanted to make everything better. Tentatively touching her cheek, he asked, "Can I kiss you right now?"

She made a noise that was a strange mix between a laugh and a cry. She shook her head, "I haven't brushed my teeth yet today."

He gave her a look like she was supremely weird before leaning in, "I don't care."

Her breath did smell a bit, but he really didn't care. This was Lucy.

"Another?" she asked when he ended the kiss, her hot breath hitting his mouth.

"After you brush your teeth," he said. Okay, maybe he did care a little bit.

She stuck her tongue out at him, finally resembling the pre-sickness Lucy, and dashed off to brush her teeth. When she returned, she looked infinitely better. She had brushed her hair and changed into her typical clothes.

He met her halfway across the room and kissed her again like he promised.

"There's my Lucy."

**#3 Hopes & #4 Another**


	4. Me Neither

When lunch time had come and passed and Lucy still hadn't made it to the guild, Natsu became worried that she had started avoiding them again. Waving away the rest of the concerned guild members, he and Happy left to drag Lucy out of her apartment.

He climbed in her window and found her sitting, fully dressed, on the edge of her bed. She turned at the sound of him clambering in, took in his worried expression, and forced a smile.

"I was going to come to the guild…I just…was thinking," she said, not moving from the bed. Happy flew across the room and snuggled deep into her lap. She pet him absently and said, "I lost track of time."

"Is something the matter?" Natsu asked, leaning against the window. Instantly he regretted his words. She was dying. Of course something was the matter. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to fix his mistake, "Well…other than…you know what I mean."

She laughed, though she looked wistful, "I do know what you mean."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I am. I don't hurt or anything. It's just…I hate the look the guild members give me. Like, they're trying to memorize me for when I'm gone."

She sighed, "I'll be talking to Levy and I'll look up to see her staring at me. And…"

Lucy trailed off, turning her head to the wall to hide the emotion on her face. Happy shared a look with Natsu, "Lucy…"

"It's okay," she whispered, still resolutely facing the wall. "You guys go on ahead. I'll meet up with you at the guild."

Happy hesitated, but respected her wishes and flew out of the room, nodding at Natsu on the way out. The fire mage pushed away from the window and stood just behind her.

"I don't think it's really sunk in yet," Lucy said.

He didn't know what to say, so he just remained silent. He hadn't noticed before how delicate her shoulder blades were. Staring at her back, they looked like the fragile bones of a baby bird. He'd seen her get smashed into the ground and recover well enough afterwards, but looking at her hunched over on the bed…she seemed so breakable.

"I'm sad, but I don't think I'm the proper level of sad for dying. I feel like I'm stuck in the shock phase. When will I wake up not thinking this was all a horrible dream?" She pointed at her bedside table, where an index card was propped against the clock. The index card read _It's not a dream_.

"It's already been half a month since I found I was going to die. And, what have I done?"

"Lucy," Natsu said. He put his hand on her thin shoulder, half-nervous that she would fall apart under his touch. She didn't. She turned in towards his hand and wrapped her arms around him. "I have an idea."

"Hm?" she asked, resting her head against his chest.

"So that the others can stop trying to memorize you all the time, let's have a memory day," he said. She pulled away to look at him, smiling automatically at the enthusiasm in his expression.

"Explain more," she said.

"Well, we can spend the whole day with our nakama. And, we'll make memories together and they'll be able to stare at you as much as they want and commission as many paintings of you as they want," Natsu said. "But, once the day is over, they have to treat you as they always have. To get it out of their systems. It can be sort of like a festival."

"That's a good idea."

"Hey, don't sound so surprised!"

She laughed, but after a moment her face grew somber.

"Natsu…why don't you stare at me like everyone else?"

"Because…," he didn't know how to explain it right. He gestured vaguely, at a loss, "I don't want to think about after…I don't want there to be an after."

She kissed his neck and then laid her head on his shoulder, "Me neither."

He held her, glad that she couldn't see his tears.

**#5 Me Neither**


	5. Painting

She felt weird. Growing up with the rich and glamorous life, she had had parties thrown in her honor before. But, none had been like this. She felt the weight of everyone's eyes on her at all times, making her feel awkward and clumsy. Already, she had knocked over two tables and dumped a pitcher of lemonade.

"Lucy, did you hear me?" Wendy asked.

"Huh?" she shook her head, realizing that she was spacing off again. She'd become quite the space-case since she'd found out about the disease, despite her efforts to focus. Lucy didn't want to waste her precious time brooding. "Sorry, Wendy, I didn't."

"That's okay!" she chirped. "I was telling you that Master said we'd be having fireworks tonight. I'm sure they'll be really beautiful!"

"Fireworks are wonderful, aren't they?" Lucy asked, smiling.

Wendy returned the smile, though hers was shy. "Hey, could I get my painting with you during the fireworks?"

Lucy ruffled her hair, "I would like that."

It had been an unspoken agreement that everyone would get a painting done with her. She'd been pulled to the side by her nakama one by one throughout the day. Some of the paintings were surprising. Like Gajeel's. He had wanted her to stand next to him while he held his guitar and rested an arm on her shoulder. He hadn't asked her to change into a bunny suit, but he had insisted on her wearing a bunny ear headband. Afterwards, he'd smirked at her and said, "You're a good girl, bunny girl."

The one thing they all had in common was that they were all bittersweet and left her chest aching. Especially Mira's. She had just wanted a simple painting of them hugging. She'd ended up crying and Lucy felt terrible that she was causing her the pain of loss yet again.

She realized she was spacing off again when Natsu waved his hand in front of her face.

"Oh, Natsu," she said, blinking in surprise and wondering how long he'd been there.

"I asked Wendy if I could steal you and she said it was fine," Natsu said. He didn't give her a chance to respond, grabbing her wrist impatiently and bringing her away from everyone to a secluded clearing. Reedus was already set up and waiting patiently for them.

She looked up at Natsu as he stepped nearer and wrapped his arms around her. He was so warm. Whenever she was close to him, it felt like his warmth was seeping into her bones. It was a pleasant feeling.

He grinned down at her. His grin was different. It gave off warmth, but instead of a steady, nice feeling, it was like a blaze. She loved his grin so much, "I wanted to make sure I got a picture with you."

"What did you have in mi…," she started. Natsu cut her off with a sweet kiss. She felt as if she was melting like sugar into him and finally understood the emotions of the heroines in all those romances she'd read. The dizzying rush of feelings. The weakness in the knees. The need to be closer and closer.

When the painting was done, Reedus handed it to Natsu and the two of them stared at it for a long time.

"It's beautiful," Lucy said, her voice catching in her throat. "Thank you so much, Reedus."

Natsu pressed the picture into her hand and said, "Replace the notecard by your bed with this."

She nodded, "Okay."

"Let's go get some food now. The fireworks should be starting soon," Natsu said.

She nodded again, "Okay."

**#6 Painting**


	6. Everything

"Ugh!" Lucy shouted in frustration, angrily crumpling the piece of paper she'd been leaning over and throwing it over her shoulder. It landed on the growing pile of balled up paper gathered around the garbage can.

It was early morning, but she hadn't been able to sleep. A restless feeling had seized her and, after tossing and turning in bed for an hour, she had crawled out of bed and stationed herself at her desk. However, while she had an idea of what she wanted to list, nothing seemed right on the paper.

Thinking for a moment, she scrawled out a sentence. She examined it for a moment, holding her chin and pursing her lips critically. With another exasperated shout, the paper was crumpled and thrown like all the others.

She tried again.

"Stupid!"

And again.

"Corny!"

Again.

"Gross and lame!"

She was clutching her quill with white knuckled frustration when Natsu's voice startled her. Squealing, her arms flew up in surprise and the blank papers that still remained in the pile on her desk floated down to the floor.

The glare she was preparing to shoot him softened when she saw him standing in the doorway, half-asleep and half-curious. He'd taken to sleeping on her couch, saying that he wanted to spend every possible moment with her. It was reassuring to know that he was close, even if she had disliked the reminder of her sickness at first.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Lucy said, flushing when she realized how loud she had been.

"It's okay," he mumbled, moving to help her collect her papers. When they were all stacked, perhaps not as neatly, back on the table, he leaned over her shoulder and asked, "What're you doing?"

She puffed her cheeks, showing him an article in a magazine. The article was about bucket lists. The author had asked readers to submit their own bucket lists and shared them along with raves about how fun and fulfilling bucket lists were. Though they were way overdone, she thought that a list would be the perfect way to keep her focused on living. She didn't want to 'die' before she died.

Every time she wrote something down, though, she pictured Happy in her mind giggling behind his paws and felt incredibly dumb. Maybe this was a stupid idea. Looking up at Natsu, she saw him knit his eyebrows.

"A bucket list?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't think I want to do it anymore, though."

"Why not?" he asked, turning to face her now.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. It just seems stupid now. I mean…it seems so cheesy now that I think about it more."

He thought this over for a moment. Then, pulling a sheet of paper down in front of her, he said, "Do it. It doesn't matter if it's cheesy."

"Okay," she said, picking up her quill. She hesitated, realizing that she back in the same situation as before.

Noting her pause, he prodded her, "What do you want to do?"

She tilted her face to look up at him again, studying him closely. He was regarding her with an expression of curiosity and amusement, probably wondering why she was observing him so blatantly. With an absent smile, she focused on his eyes…then his nose…his cheek bones…his mouth.

"What?" he asked.

Her smile widening, she took his face in her hands and leaned in. It was like a magnetic pull, one that she didn't want to resist. His arms came up automatically around her and the answer that had been eluding her the whole morning came to her so easily.

_Everything._

She wrote the word on the paper in her neat cursive and showed it to him. He looked from it to her with a grin so big his eyes squinted. Deciding it wasn't cheesy enough, she snatched the paper back and added _with you_ to it.

"Let's start right now," he said.

**#7 Everything**

_(A happier one. :D They will range from angst-y to happy throughout, since emotions are pretty up and down in these situations. I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading~!)_


	7. Public

"Does that mean you guys are going to travel?" Gray asked, propping his chin on his hand.

"I want to!" Lucy said. She smiled, her eyes lighting up as she no doubt thought of the wonderful places they could go see. Then she sighed and slumped back in her chair, "But, we don't have enough money to do something like that."

Natsu's eyes drifted towards the ceiling as he considered. If money was the only thing keeping Lucy from doing something that she clearly wanted to do, he would have to figure something out to get around that.

"If that's the only problem," Erza said, pulling his attention back to his friends, "you could just pick up jobs along the way, couldn't you?"

Lucy's eyebrows furrowed, "That's true, but I also need to be near for the doctor. And, I don't want to be away from you all for my last…I would miss you guys. Traveling isn't worth it."

Seeing her spirits deflating, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. When she leaned into his touch, he did what seemed natural, lifting her chin and kissing her gently on the lips. He didn't think anything of it until he noticed how deathly quiet the guild had fallen.

He looked around and saw the rest of the guild members gaping at them. With a jolt, he realized that this had been the first time he'd kissed her in public. There was a sad tension in the air and everyone was frozen like they'd been turned into statues.

Lucy pulled away from him, looking embarrassed and he opened his mouth to say something only to close it a second later when he didn't have anything to say.

Thankfully, Happy piped up, "Natsu llllllikes her. He kisses her all the time!"

The spell was broken and the stillness left. The gapes turned into sad smiles and their nakama moved forward to congratulate them. Reedus gave him a half shrug when he met eyes with them. Clearly he hadn't said anything to anyone.

After most of the crowd had dispersed, he noticed that Lucy still seemed embarrassed. Her cheeks were flushed and she stuttered when anyone asked a question. Mira gave her a playful push and said, "Tell us sooner next time."

"I-I will," Lucy promised.

Wrinkling his nose, Natsu said, "There had better not be a next time."

**#8 Public**


	8. Hiding

Lucy rested her head against his shoulder, trying to covertly rub soothing circles over her aching temples. Natsu had gone through so much work to make a special night for her, she felt terrible for ruining it. Even if it was from something out of her control.

She could handle it. As soon as she saw his excited grin and dashing suit she knew she would have to handle it. The sadness and worry that would replace the happy gleam would just make everything worse. This was worth it.

Even so, she had to keep repeating this to herself. _I can make this. I can make this. It is just a headache._ The worst headache she'd ever experienced, but she had endured worse pain, hadn't she? It hadn't been so sharp and constant, but she refused to give in. She didn't want this stupid sickness to take over her life.

Lucy wasn't as covert as she thought she had been. They were sitting on a dock and watching the water change colors under the sunset. The evening had been nice – way more than nice – but she was starting to have a metallic taste in her mouth that made her think of vomit.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked, pulling her back at arm's length to get a good look at her.

She forced a smile, "I'm great!"

He frowned, not convinced in the least, "You've been rubbing your head all night. And, you didn't seem to have much of an appetite back at the restaurant even though you ate everything. You seemed dizzy when we were walking, too."

"You caught me," Lucy admitted with a weak laugh. "I feel a little under the weather today."

Instead of smiling, he seemed upset, "Lucy, why would you try to hide that from me?"

Sighing, she said, "I wanted to spend and enjoy time with you. A date with you is something I've wanted for so long and you put in so much effort. This is the worst time to feel sick."

"Don't ever force yourself. If you don't feel good, let me know. We can always go on a date another time when you feel better," he said, already steering towards her home. When she hesitated, he scooped her up into his arms.

She closed her eyes as he leaned in and he kissed her on the nose. She smiled and breathed a little huff of a laugh. _What if I don't get better after this?_ She thought this, but refused to say it. Natsu was her courage and at the moment he was holding her firmly in his warm arms. She would allow herself to hope that the rest of her time wouldn't be like this.

**#9 Hiding**


	9. Helplessness

Lucy groaned over the toilet, wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet. Since their date last night, she'd been throwing up about two to three times an hour. Despite the gross factor and his enhanced sense of smell, he stayed in the bathroom with her and rubbed her back. Lucy cried every time she threw up.

This time wasn't an exception. She turned to him, tears streaming down her cheeks in steady rivers. Forcibly, he crushed her against his chest. Her forehead fell weakly against his collarbone and she sobbed into his chest. He pressed his lips to the top of head in a drawn out kiss and rocked her.

"I hate being sick," she said.

"I know," he said, his lips moving against her hair. "I hate it, too."

"I wish Wendy were here," Lucy whined. He tightened his grip on her. Even if Wendy couldn't completely heal her, the young dragonslayer could at least alleviate the symptoms. She was unfortunately out on a mission and wasn't expected to be back for two more days.

Eventually, Lucy's cries calmed down and her breath was slow against the skin of his chest. She'd cried herself to sleep. It gave him this awful feeling of helplessness that he'd only felt a few times before. Like when his guildmates had been caught in the lacrima or when those rocks had fallen on him and he had to watch Lucy get beat up. The difference, in both of those situations, was that he'd been able to figure out how to fix things. He'd gotten to beat the bad guys.

This time, the bad guys were inside of Lucy and the only thing he could do is tend to her while she slowly slipped away from him. He was so afraid. His instincts told him to clutch tighter to her and he knew that when the end did come he would be completely devastated.

Hopefully that end would come many years from now. Even though her sickness was making everything more depressingly real than before, he would still cling to that hope. If not for his own sake, for Lucy's.

He carried to her bed and tucked her in, watching her for several long moments before going back to the couch he'd claimed.

**#Helplessness**


	10. Sorry

"What the?" Gajeel growled, regaining his feet quickly and going on the defensive.

Natsu had searched all over for the iron-studded man and, upon locating him, had smashed his fist into the side of his face. Not speaking, Natsu lunged at him again. Gajeel was prepared for him this time and met his fist with his own. Hissing against the pain of his uncovered and vulnerable hand clashing with Gajeel's hardened one, he spun around and kicked the other dragonslayer in the gut.

Gajeel fell back with another angry growl, "What's gotten into you?"

Their fight was serious. It hadn't been this serious since the man had kidnapped Lucy and provoked his rage. Realizing that Natsu was giving it his complete all, Gajeel returned the same effort.

At one point he had gotten cornered by Gajeel and could only snarl in pain and anger as the other man rained punches and kicks down on him. When he got a chance, Gajeel caught his arms and tried to hold him down. His body burned with anger and scales were starting to appear under his eyes and on his shoulders. Being held down and unable to do anything was something too familiar to him lately and he quickly escalated into full on fury.

"Tell me what's going on!" Gajeel shouted. Natsu glared up at him, initiating a staring contest of sorts. After several long moments, Gajeel caved. "Fine. I think I understand now."

He let go of Natsu's arms and hardly gave him a second to collect himself before kicking him with enough force to send him crashing through a fence on the other side. With that hit, he'd made it clear that he didn't consider this a typical fight between guildmates. Without laughing his usual stupid laugh or smirking his usual stupid smirk, his face set in a serious line as his skin turned silver.

They sprang at each other at the same time. Natsu predicted his extended arm and ducked out of the way just in time. Tracing his palm down the extended arm, he followed it to the base and sent a brutal uppercut to his chin.

Gajeel retaliated with a kick to the top of the head that faceplanted Natsu into the dirt.

The fight continued until they were both unable to move another muscle and fell to the ground. They hadn't refrained from using dragonslayer powers and his skin felt raw all over from when he hadn't been able to avoid his breath completely. He hadn't been beat up this badly for an extremely long time. And, he'd felt better then.

Gajeel coughed. Natsu turned his head, wincing at the pain, and met Gajeel's bruised eyes.

"Go back to your woman, Salamander," he rasped.

Most of the anger and frustration in Natsu had left with his energy. Dead tired, he forced himself to his feet and stumbled his way back to Lucy's apartment. The light was on in her window. She was probably wondering where he was. He hadn't left her side for this long since before he found out she was dying and had kissed her.

He used his remaining strength to jump to her window and ease it open. She was still reclined on the bed, but when she turned and saw him, she jumped up to meet him at the window.

"No, no," he insisted. "You're sick."

"What happened to you, Natsu? Did you get jumped?" Lucy asked, bewildered at the state of damage he was in. "We need to bring you to…well, Wendy's not here…"

"I fought with Gajeel. And, don't worry about it. I heal fast," he said. He didn't know how to explain it to her, but he needed the pain. Hell, he couldn't understand it himself. Maybe he was punishing himself for not being able to fix it. He didn't know. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her face still set in concern. He tried to smooth the worry lines away, but they remained. She made him lay down and then tucked herself in with him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Lucy twined her fingers in his hair and kissed him carefully. She tasted of mint toothpaste and tears. She was crying again.

Hugging his head close to her chest, she said, "No, Natsu. _I'm_ sorry."

**#11 Sorry**


	11. Silver Lining

"Luce, you're worrying me," Natsu said for what had to be the millionth time.

"Oh, stop it," Lucy said, smiling as she walked along the wall of the canal with her arms outstretched. She was still a little shaky from being in bed for several days, but she also felt alive with energy. She just wanted to move around and feel the satisfaction of exerting herself. "You're starting to sound like my mother or something."

At that Natsu pouted some and declared that he would laugh when she fell in. She laughed, just happy to be outside and to see something other than pain on his face for once. It was strange how awesome just feeling normal was. Maybe that was one of the few perks of her sickness. After being sick and being stuck inside, being able to do just ordinary everyday things felt great. She could appreciate everything so much more now that she was losing it.

The sunlight in her hair. The gurgling of the water in the canal. Happy's teasing voice. Natsu.

She stopped walking and turned to face Natsu. He looked up at her curiously. This man. This man right here made everything worth it. No matter how painful her illness got, she wouldn't trade her life or knowing him for anything. If she had to die the most gruesome death she would gladly do it a thousand times to be able to love Natsu and be loved by him.

She laughed again, because she was so happy to be here in this moment with her silver lining. He grinned back at her and held his arms up to her. Without hesitating, she fell into his embrace and shouted with glee when he spun her in a circle.

"Luce," he whispered, setting her down and leaning in to kiss her smile.

She touched his cheek, "Natsu."

**#12 Silver Lining**

_(Hey everyone, sorry for the long break, I was at camp being a counselor and stuff. But, now I'm back. There is a plot, and the action will be picking up a little bit soon. so...yeah, this isn't just aimless fluff, though it is extremely fluffy (and angsty) ahaha.)_


	12. Bursting, Get a Room

"Look, Lucy!" Happy said, presenting a fish to the blonde. She jumped back with a squeal, not liking how close the scaled thing was to her face. "I caught this for you. It's bigger than Natsu's!"

"What!" Natsu exclaimed, straightening his back when he saw that Happy's fish was indeed bigger than the one he'd caught. With a determined set to his features, he reeled his fish line back in. "We'll see about that, I'm going to catch the biggest fish ever!"

He made a big show about winding his swing up, making theatrical struggling noises and releasing the line far out into the water with a flourish that made him look more than a little bit ridiculous. "I hope you were watching, Happy, 'cause that's how it's done!"

Lucy shook her head at his antics. She would have thought the silly side of Natsu would make him seem immature and annoying to her, but instead she found it incredibly endearing and it only made her love him more. She enjoyed his goofball-ness and it always managed to cheer her up.

She prepared to make a teasing comment when her fishing pole twitched. Normally, she would alternate between watching and reading her book while the males fished. But, she had decided to join in this time. However, this was her first time getting a bite.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted when the tip of her fishing pole bent lower. "I caught one!"

"Great job, Lucy! Reel it in!" Natsu said, forgetting his own pole and joining her. When she hesitated, he impatiently put his hand over her's and started reeling it in for her. They got the fish in about halfway before it started to put up a fight. With a big jerk, Natsu and her were brought to their knees on the edge of the shore and almost tumbled into the water. "Woah, it must be a big one!"

Natsu's muscles bulged as he struggled with pulling in the reluctant fish and Lucy felt like her fingers were going to break off from gripping the pole. Even Happy helped, gripping the tip of the fishing pole and flying backwards.

The fish put up a valiant fight, not even giving up at the end, but it was just one fish and they were three determined fishers. With a small popping noise, the fish emerged from the water and dangled from the line.

"Wha-," Natsu said, his eyes wide like saucers.

"It's….it's dinky!" Happy said with disappointment.

It was dinky. The fish couldn't have been much longer than her index finger. Natsu, still in the state of shock, fell back on the bank. Lucy freed the little fish from the line.

Holding it up to eye level she asked, "How did something so small put up such a big fight?"

It opened and closed its mouth at her, its gills heaving in attempt to get oxygen. Smiling at the small thing, she lowered it into the water and let it go. It had fought so hard, it deserved to be returned to its home.

After the fish disappeared, she joined Natsu on the grass. His eyes were closed and he had his arms behind his head. She poked his cheek, "I thought fishing was supposed to be relaxing. I'm exhausted."

He opened his eyes and turned to face her, "This is how real men fish."

"It was fun," she said, turning on her side as well.

Then they did that thing couples did, where they stared into each other's eyes. His face was close to hers and his eyes seemed so big and mesmerizing. She was always focused on his mouth, his lovely contagious smile, that she hadn't really noticed before how amazing his eyes were.

He moved closer and put his hand on her waist and her poor heart swelled with happiness so forcibly that she thought it might burst. She put her hand over her chest, overwhelmed by the power of the happiness.

He moved even closer and her hands left her chest to wrap around his shoulders. She could feel his heart, beating just as crazily as hers, against her chest when she pressed her lips hard against his.

"Ew!" Happy exclaimed, hovering over them. "Get a room!"

Natsu just laughed and rolled over to pin her. He tilted her head to kiss her again, deeper this time, and smiled into the kiss when Happy flew off wailing about his innocence.

**#13 Bursting & #14 Get a Room**


	13. Nightmare

Natsu startled awake. He sat up and looked around Lucy's living room, searching for what had woke him up. He shook his head and was preparing to lay back down when he heard Lucy's whimper. All of the sleep leaving him, he stumbled into her bedroom.

She had left the curtains open that night and light from the moon spilled in through the window onto her tossing form. Lucy looked so ethereal in the white beams that Natsu might have frozen in his spot and stared at her, but she was crying. Her mouth open and perfectly round in distress and her eyelids squeezed shut tight.

Now that he knew she wasn't in immediate trouble, he slowly made his way to her side. She was twisted up in her bed sheets, whimpering and whispering the names of guildmates. And, "Help me, help me, I'm scared."

He slid into the bed with her. She stilled in his hug, but her body was shaking. "Lucy, wake up. Luce. I'm here, it's okay."

She woke up slowly, her eye lashes fluttering. It took her eyes a moment to focus, "Natsu?"

"Yes," he said, resting his lips on her temple.

"It was just a nightmare," she said, her body relaxing with relief.

"What happened?" he asked, his mouth moving against her skin.

"I was at the guild. It was like a normal day. You and Gray were fighting. I was sitting with Levy at the bar, talking with Mirajane. Then, I just started floating up. Levy and you tried to grab for me, but no one could catch me. I kept floating up and up. I thought I would stop when I reached the ceiling, like a trapped balloon, but I went through the ceiling. I kept rising, until I could see all of Magnolia and then all of Fiore.

"I didn't stop, I kept going up. I was crying for someone to save me, but soon I got so far up that I couldn't see anything. Not the curved surface of the planet. Nothing. I was in blackness and I was completely alone. It was the scariest thing ever," Lucy said. She was shivering again.

He hugged her tighter, gathering her against his bare chest and rubbing her back. "Lucy, I would never let that happen to you. I'll never let you go."

"I know," she whispered.

She was shaken from the nightmare, but with his comfort, she was able to slip back into sleep. He didn't sleep for a long time after that, instead just watching her. Her dream this time seemed to be peaceful because she had this small little smile.

He had to do something to save her. But, what?

**#15 Nightmare**

****_(Just wondering, what's your favorite kiss so far? Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone~!)_


	14. Marry Me?

"Hey, Lucy?" Natsu asked, turning to her. They were lounging in the corner of the guild in the aftermath of a fight. Everything was quiet and peaceful, though most of the members were hedging around Erza. Despite having a new slice of cake, she still seemed volatile and gave off a dangerous aura.

"Hm?" she asked, leaning against his arm.

"We should get married," he said.

Lucy choked on her own spit and lurched forward in her seat in surprise, "What? Married?"

"Yeah," Natsu said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, though he seemed bashful. "People get married when they know they want to be together forever, right?"

She rubbed the side of her neck, her mind overwhelmed by a mess of emotions. She'd always wanted to get married. She had imagined her wedding day millions of times and to be Natsu's wife would be amazing. But…she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't say that she would take him as a husband knowing it wouldn't be forever.

She wanted him to have a happy after. As much as it hurt to think of Natsu with someone else, it hurt even more to think of him miserable and alone for the rest of his life. And, she didn't want his future wife to always have to be second to her.

"Oh, Natsu," she said, hiding her face in his neck. It was hard to tell him no when he looked at her with those earnest eyes and that hopeful expression. Every fiber of her being wanted to say yes, but she refused to be selfish. "I want to, but I can't."

His body tensed, and without even looking at his face, she could tell he was upset and hurt. He tried to pull her back, to look at her face, but she held on tighter like a coward, "You can't? Why?"

Smoothing down his hair, she said, "Because I want you to be happy and I don't want to be selfish."

He was quiet for a long time before he said, "But…if you married me, it would be me being selfish."

Lucy shook her head, her voice breaking, "I'm sorry, Natsu."

She let him pull her back the second time. He wiped her tears away and said, "I don't really get it, but okay."

"I'm sorry," she said again. Natsu smiled, showing her that everything was forgiven and kissed her softly. Her eyes fluttered shut and she allowed herself to picture their wedding. She wondered what he would say for the vows? He had always been dense, but on multiple occasions he'd pulled out speeches that surprised her in their heart and eloquence. Maybe he would just say that he was fired up and dip her for a kiss.

"Lucy, it's okay. Don't cry anymore," Natsu said when he ended the kiss and saw that she was crying again.

She nodded and leaned against him again. He put his arm around her and she forced her mind on to other subjects to keep herself from caving into her selfish want.

_I really wanted to say yes._

**#16 Marry Me?**

_(Weh, I'm so mean to them! I'm sorry~! Oh, and, thanks for telling me your favorite kisses, it made my night reading them. :D It seems the general consensus was the fishing and painting kisses. Thanks for reading~!) _


	15. Because I Can

The moment she saw Natsu, walking down the street with Happy, she broke out into a sprint and jumped him. He caught her with a startled grunt. Before he had a chance to say anything, she gripped his scarf and brought his mouth down to hers.

He returned the kiss without hesitation and she relaxed into it, feeling the now familiar sensation of melting into him. His mouth was so hot that she felt like her lips were burning and his fingertips left fiery sensations across her shoulder blades. When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard.

"Wh-what was that for?" Natsu asked, cutely trying to catch his breath. She was tempted to steal another kiss, but Happy was looking at them with an uncomfortable expression. She didn't want to annoy him or make him feel weird with her PDA, so she decided to be content with a bear hug.

Lucy squeezed him tightly with all of her strength, hoping to get him to wheeze even just a little. She was glad that she'd found him so quickly. Natsu had been gone for a good part of the day, moving the rest of the things he used into her apartment, and she had used that opportunity to speak with Lisanna.

The white-blonde had been surprised to see her approach her and even more surprised when she asked her if she could speak to her in private. The girl nodded and followed her outside and behind the guild where they could easily spot any eavesdroppers.

Intrigued by Lucy's determination to have absolute privacy, Lisanna regarded her with raised eyebrows and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Lucy took a deep breath, steadying herself, before saying in a rush, "Take care of Natsu, please!"

"Eh?"

"Sorry," Lucy said, taking another deep breath. "That came out weird. I mean, I've been thinking about what Natsu's going to do after this…after I die, and I was wondering if you would make sure to keep an eye on him for me? I'm afraid that he'll do something stupid and I know you care about him a lot."

"Of course," she said. She had a fierce look in her eyes, "Of course, I will! You don't have to worry at all, Lucy!"

Lucy smiled with relief and felt the tension ease out of her shoulders even though she knew that Lisanna wouldn't have refused. The girl cared about Natsu just as much as she did and also had a great character in general. She was someone Natsu could count on. And, maybe move on with. She clutched her chest with a wince. The thought made her heart ache, even though she reminded herself that she would be gone and unable to be jealous when he did move on.

"Are you okay?" Lisanna asked. She had moved closer and was hovering near her with a concerned expression.

Lucy smoothed her shirt hurriedly, "Yeah. Thank you, I'm fine."

Then, pausing to gather her words correctly, she said, "Hey, Lisanna…make sure that Natsu knows he has my blessing to move on. Encourage him and remind him. I don't want him to spend his life alone."

The girl froze and studied Lucy for a moment. Lucy raised her head some and looked back at her steadily. _That means you can be with him with my blessing._

Maybe…maybe Lisanna was who Natsu was meant to be with anyway. That she would just be a small part of his youth before he moved on to build his life with Lisanna. She had suspicions that Lisanna liked him more than a friend already, but there was no way she was going to give him up a moment before she absolutely had to. She had already declined marrying him. That had used up all of the selflessness in her and all that was left was a huge mess of yearning, pain, and jealousy.

"Okay," Lisanna nodded. Her eyes were watery and she sniffled some, "You're a wonderful person, Lucy."

She shook her head, because she had such selfish tendencies, but said, "Thank you. You are, too, Lisanna. Thank you so much for promising to take care of Natsu for me."

But, after leaving Lisanna, she couldn't return to the guild hall. She needed to see Natsu. She needed to be with him and kiss him and hold him while he was still hers. Life was so cruel, only letting her have him for a little while before forcing her to relinquish him. The thoughts of her with Natsu made her wrinkle her nose and feel pettier than she had thought they would.

When she had finally spotted him, with these horribly jealous thoughts plaguing her, she couldn't restrain herself and ran for him. And, then she'd kissed him more passionately than she had ever before. And, now he was looking down at her with pleased and breathless puzzlement.

"That was for you being mine," Lucy answered. "And, because I can. Whenever I want to."

He laughed, his eyes moving back and forth as he took her in at this close proximity, "You're beautiful, Luce."

Giddy, she squealed when he returned her bear hug. His was stronger than hers and she wheezed and cried uncle as he effectively squeezed all of the air out of her like she had failed to do.

**#17 Because I Can**

_(Since this is a big project and I'm also trying to work on improving my writing skill by writing everyday, my goal is to not go longer than a day or two at most without updating. If I am gone longer than that, feel free to guilt me into posting again, because I am highly susceptible to guilt-tripping ahaha. Also, the scarf grab idea was 'borrowed' from the NALU fanfic Lucky. It's pretty good and I thought the idea of the scarf grab was super cute so I shamelessly used it, hehe. Thanks for reading~!)_


	16. Lifetime

Seeing the blue haired mage sitting at the bar in her usual spot, Natsu navigated himself around his fellow guild mates (just barely avoiding a scrape with Gray) and plopped down in the seat next to her. The other members of the Shadow Team were seated on her other side, but they left reluctantly after Natsu gave them a look that told them to beat it.

"Hey, Levy," Natsu asked, trying to act nonchalant as he messed with her glass. "It's been a month since Lucy found out about her disease, right?"

Levy nodded after pausing a moment, "Yeah, it has been a month now."

"Yeah," Natsu said. He turned more of his attention on the glass he was messing with, but he kept getting distracted from seeing Levy fidget in his peripherals. He didn't want to think about this, and he felt guilty for making Levy think about it, but it was sort of unavoidable. The fact that Lucy's life was scheduled to end soon couldn't be changed by him ignoring it, so the best he could do at the moment was make sure that he used all of her time left properly. "How many days are in five months?"

"About 152, I think," Levy said, a thoughtful hand on her chin.

Natsu dropped her cup back on the table and hunched over the bar, thinking. He regretted saying only a hundred. When Lucy had dropped the bomb on him that she was dying, he had said a hundred kisses because it seemed like such a big number. But, now he wished he'd said an even bigger number. Like a thousand. Or a million. Though, he doubted even a trillion kisses would be enough to satisfy him. He would always wish for more.

And, he didn't have to be a genius to realize that 100 was a smaller number than 152. Should he ration them out? Of course, he realized that she wouldn't fall over dead after the hundredth kiss, but he couldn't kill this strange hope out that if he stretched the hundred kisses out as long as he could, maybe her life would be prolonged. After all, he wasn't one to ever go back on a promise.

It was stupid, but he felt like this promise had a lot of power. He didn't want to waste any of her kisses. He wanted them to have meaning and to be special. He wanted her to live a lifetime in the short time she was still with him. He wanted to make her days into years.

It would be hard to save the kisses. Lucy was irresistible. He always wanted to touch her. To hold her. To taste her. But, this wasn't about him. It was about her.

"Natsu!"

Natsu looked up to see that Levy had left and Lucy was sitting in her spot. She gave him an amused smile and thunked him on the head softly, "What are you concentrating on so intently? I must have said your name like a million times."

"I was thinking about you," he said with a light shrug.

Her face flushed, but she seemed pleased, "Really?"

"Yup," he said. He caught her in his arms and squeezed her tight to him. He liked the feeling of her pressed against him. It was warm and pleasant and made his heart race. Natsu was a man of action, so instead of telling her how he felt with words, he tried to convey it with his hug.

Lucy tilted her head back to look up at him. Her eyes were glossy and he could tell that she heard what he was telling her. Her gaze slipped down to his lips and he, even though he had promised himself to ration the kisses out, happily closed the distance between them.

**#18 Lifetime**


	17. Favorite

Sitting behind Lucy as she sat at her desk and wrote furiously, Natsu had a strong and sudden urge to trace the curve of her back. He leaned forward and, without really thinking, submitted to the urge with a quick swipe.

Lucy straightened and threw him a look over her shoulder, "Natsu, what in the world are you doing?"

"Touching your back," he said with a shrug.

"Well, stop. I'm trying to concentrate," she said, her eyebrow twitching at the Captain Obvious answer he'd given. He gave his best innocent look and she, her lips pressed as if she didn't quite believe him, turned back to her writing.

She was right now to believe him, because a couple of minutes later, he traced her spine again. He went slower this time, feeling the surprisingly defined muscles of her back and shoulders. Lucy shuddered and reprimanded him, "Natsu, I swear if you don't leave me alone, I'll kick you out!"

Not one to be easily intimidated, he waited for her shoulders to lose their hunch and for her to relax back into her seat with false hope that he was done bugging her. Then, he ran his hand up her back, along the back of her neck, and into her hair.

"Natsu!" she shouted, turning to face him. "Get out of my house right now!"

"Make me," he challenged, sticking his tongue out.

Her eyebrow was twitching again, and she seemed to be using a lot of effort to keep her voice calm when she asked, "What, are you five?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but paused when he noticed her muscles bunching and gathering. She looked like a cat preparing to pounce on its prey. He registered this and started to move back, but it was a moment too late. Lucy tackled him, surprising him enough that they fell to the ground.

It winded him a little, but not as much as the feel of the entirety of Lucy pressed against his body. Even though she was glaring at him and her body language promised vengeance, he couldn't help but smile. Her glower deepened and she started to pinch his body all over. She grabbed little enough skin with enough pressure that it felt like tons of little bug bites. And, though he'd suffered worse pain countless time before, he found himself squirming to get away and making little pain filled gasps between laughs.

Lucy's expression lost a lot of its fierceness, and then they were suddenly kissing. When they broke away, breathless and grinning, Lucy said, "Natsu, you're my favorite."

"You're my favorite, too," he said, locking his arms around her torso when she moved to get back up. To get her back for the pinching torture, he licked the length of her neck. She instinctively curled her shoulder in towards her ear, but when he started sucking on the skin right at the base of her neck, she stretched back out.

He let her free after that and admired his mark on her neck. It was red and dark against her pale skin and blonde hair. When she noticed that he'd left a hickey on her neck, she shouted his name in exasperation and chased after him.

He hid in the bathroom until he deemed it safe to go back outside.

**#19 Favorite**_  
_


	18. Idea

Natsu lurched forward in bed with a loud exclamation, "Of course!"

Next to him, Lucy startled awake. A month and a half ago, she would have attacked him for being in her bed, but he'd taken to sleeping with her since the nightmare and had become a welcome bed companion. So, instead, she looked around blearily, trying to find the source of Natsu's excitement, as he dove off the bed.

"Of course," he repeated, starting to throw her things into the first bag he came across. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Think of what, Natsu?" Lucy asked. She was standing behind him now, unsteady on still-asleep legs, and rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"This is enough underwear, right?" Natsu asked, holding up a bunch of her pink, frilly panties.

Lucy squealed and pried his fingers from her unmentionables and quickly stuffed them back into her dresser. Her voice was dangerous and warning when she demanded, "Tell me what you're doing right this minute."

Natsu took her shoulders in his hands and kissed her hard on the mouth. She returned the kiss hesitantly, probably wondering if he'd gone crazy, but she was already smiling when he pulled away. "I have an idea, Lucy! Wendy and Porlyusica couldn't heal you, but I know who _has_ to be able to heal you!"

"Who?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Grandeeney!" Natsu shouted. "I mean, she taught Wendy only for a short amount of time and look at her!"

Sadness slipped into Lucy's expression, "But, Natsu, no one knows where the dragons are. Remember? You've been searching for Igneel for years. What are the chances that we'll find Grandeeney?"

"It's true that I've been searching for Igneel, but I've been busy with other things, too. This time I'm going to focus everything on finding her. And, I'll have you this time and you're like the smartest person I know. As a team, we'll be able to find her in no time."

Lucy's eyes moved to the ground as she thought. She thought for a long time, staring absently at the floor. It seemed like hours had passed by the time she looked back up at him and said, "Okay. Okay, Natsu. But, we can't leave right now. It's the middle of the night. We'll tell everyone at the guild in the morning and then leave after that."

He could tell that she was afraid to hope, so he hugged her tight. Resting her head on his shoulder she repeated, "We'll leave in the morning."

"We'll find her, I promise!" Natsu said.

She didn't say anything in response, just hugged him tighter.

**#20 Idea**


	19. Leaving

The following morning, Natsu was brimming with energy. The excitement from his idea fed into his body and he couldn't keep still for longer than two seconds at a time. While Lucy was fond of his child-like joy, she was also a bit annoyed. She was afraid and her nerves were shot before they even made it halfway to the guild.

Like with their Porlyusica visit, Lucy found herself dragging her feet in attempt to, she could admit shamefully to herself, put off the moment when her hopes would be crushed again. Or, at least put off the moment when she would say good bye to her guild mates for what would most likely be the last time.

She could tell that Natsu was struggling with not rushing her along. If anyone person understood her, it was Natsu. Even if he wasn't always best at reading the situation, he was especially adept at reading _her_. For his sake, the man was forcing himself to take small steps so that he wouldn't outdistance her even while he was burdened with most of their things, she picked up her speed.

They seemed to reach the guild in record time that morning. Natsu, Happy, and she were immediately surrounded upon entering the guild, looking conspicuous with their bags. She let Natsu explain their plan to the gathered guild. Some of them were excited at the prospect of hope, but there were just as many who had skeptical expressions. She met eyes with Levy, whose mouth was twisted in something between happiness and wariness.

Lucy was making her way over to bring Levy the farewell gift she'd prepared, when she was intercepted by Master. The short old man grimly led her to his office. When he sat down, Lucy was stuck by how deep and numerous his wrinkles seemed. He looked tired.

"Lucy, my child," Master said with a paternal pat that almost had her falling apart before anything was really even said.

She waited for him to say something more, but he remained silent. Unsure what she was supposed to do or say, she said, "What do you think of Natsu's idea?"

"I don't know. Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy have all been searching for their dragons for years without success. But, we've seen a dragon since then, haven't we?" Master said. He pushed a stack of books across the desk. "And, Natsu is not a normal man, is he? He's pretty extraordinary. I've seen him do countless things that ought to be impossible in the name of protecting those he cares about. He's special. If anyone can find the dragons, it's him. Here are books from my personal library and the guild library that might be able to give you some leads."

Lucy felt the hope in her rise despite herself. If Master thought there was a chance, then she could put more confidence in the idea. He seemed to see the spark of hope in her eye, because he added, "Remember that the chances of you finding a dragon, and that dragon being Grandeeney specifically, is quite slim."

She nodded.

"Do you have any requests?" Master asked, leaning back into his chair.

She nodded again, "Could we bring Wendy and Carla? Grandeeney was her mother, after all, and I might need her healing abilities to help with symptoms."

"I expected as much. Anything else?"

"I think that is all," Lucy said.

"Be careful, Lucy. Take care of Natsu," Master said, patting her hand again. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," she said with a sniff.

By the time that she had said her goodbyes to the rest of the guild, she was bawling without abandon. She'd left the majority of the book she was working on with Levy for her to read. She had something like five or six chapters left, which she would send in the mail if/when she finished them.

Wendy was surprised, but happy to be a part of the team. Carla not so much. She was a grudging and reluctant member of the party, but she went where Wendy went.

On the train, she was able to collect herself by finding purpose in tending to Natsu. Normally, she would leave him well enough alone on the bench, but she liked being able to take care of him for once.

While Wendy watched the horizon zip by and the Exceeds napped, Lucy ran her fingers through Natsu's hair soothingly. She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth, smiling faintly at how abnormally lax and peaceful is face was.

After a while of playing with Natsu's hair and rubbing his temples, she turned her attention to the small stack of books Master had given her, speeding through them with her Gale Force Reading Glasses.

**#21 Leaving**


	20. I Love You

"This is where we're staying?" Carla asked, her lips turned down in disappointment as she stood in the doorway. Lucy peered around at their surroundings, not thinking that the room was really all that bad. The light was yellow and flickering and the furniture might be on the sparse side, but it was clean and warm. Better than sleeping out in the open at any rate.

"We're only going to be sleeping here," Lucy said. "It doesn't have to be super nice. We have to conserve our money so we can spend more time searching and less time doing jobs. Besides, I think it's cozy."

"But, there are only two beds," Carla asked. She glanced over at Happy, and Lucy understood that the Exceed's problem came from fear of a crowded bed.

Natsu grinned and plopped down on the bed nearest the window. Lucy smiled and dropped her bags at the foot of the bed and then joined him, "Don't worry, you two can have that bed. Happy, Natsu, and I will take this one."

Wendy blushed bright red and, realizing what was making her blush, Lucy blushed as well. "Oh-oh, no! We're not sharing a bed like that, Wendy!"

Wendy ducked her head, thoroughly embarrassed, "I-I'm sorry, Lucy! I didn't mean to…I have to go to the restroom!"

Natsu laughed and hit her with a pillow, "Your face is so red, Luce! You look like a tomato!"

"Shut up," she said, returning the favor with her own pillow. But, after smoothing her hair back down and leaning back against the headboard while she waited for Wendy to finish using the bathroom, she thought about how Natsu and her hadn't really done anything that…well, _intimate_.

She continued thinking about it when she took a quick shower, when she changed into her pajamas, and when she climbed back into the bed with Natsu. To be honest, she was a bit puzzled. Natsu had always kissed her passionately, but he didn't seem to be like all the other males she read about in her romance novels.

Usually, even the gentlemen, _wanted_ the heroine and would initiate more and more intimate acts as the relationship progressed. Surely Natsu should have tried something this far in to the relationship, right?

Maybe Natsu was just old fashioned and wanted to wait for marriage before they did anything more. Which, if that were the case, she was thankful for. Because, she wanted to wait until marriage, too. At least, she _had_ wanted to wait until marriage, before she had found out she was dying. Things were a bit different now.

Lucy had already made the decision not to marry Natsu for his sake…but she wanted to experience certain things before she died. In order for both of those things to happen, she had to concede on some of her convictions. She stilled when a realization hit her. Had Natsu asked her to marry him just so they could have sex? She hoped that hadn't been the only reason.

Natsu's arm hooked around her waist and drew her nearer. She looked up at his face, expecting him to have fallen asleep during her contemplation, but his eyes were alert and scanning her face. "What's the matter?"

Lucy's expression softened. She didn't know why she kept getting surprised when he read her so easily, it was far from being new. But, every time it happened, she felt a pleased and happy jolt in her chest. She loved him so much.

Then, she stilled again. She loved him. She'd loved him for a long time, actually. But, she'd never said it or specifically considered it. Funny, she thought she'd be more nervous than she was now, but instead, she just laughed.

"Natsu," she said, cupping his cheek in her hand. He looked back at her steadily and expectantly. "I love you."

She'd thought that maybe he would have paused or at least be shocked, but he smiled and replied immediately, "I love you, too."

"I love you mor-"

Natsu cut her off with a kiss. It was soft and slow and perfect. Just perfect. She looked at him afterwards reproachfully, though her mind kept looping on how wonderful and faultless he was.

"I love _you _most," he said, with a crooked, shit-eating grin.

"Cheater," she accused without much heat.

**#22 I Love You**

_(I hope that was epic enough for you, A Nalu Fangirl! (: But, please don't say anything like that again, I nearly died from the pressure. :P On an unrelated sidenote, if anyone is interested on following me on tumblr, I have two blogs. I'll post the links on my profile. I hope you guys had a good holiday weekend. Or, if you're not from the US, a good not-holiday weekend!)_


	21. Doubts

Natsu leaned over, brushed her soft bangs out of the way, and kissed her forehead gently. He had returned to the hotel after asking around the town for any information on the dragons to find Lucy hunched over the desk, her cheek cushioned against the yellowing pages of one of Master's books.

He wondered how long she'd been in that position. It was pretty late and the way her body was contorted didn't seem very comfortable. Carefully as not to wake her, Natsu scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Mumbling in her sleep, Lucy turned over and snuggled deep into the hotel pillows. Natsu smiled fondly at the scene and studied her for several moments before turning back to the desk.

Lucy had taken a lot of notes while he was gone, and they were currently all strewn about the area. He picked them up, glancing over them as he stacked a tidy pile next to the books. Seeing how into researching where they could possibly find Grandeeney Lucy was made him glad and concerned at the same time. Glad that she trusted him so whole-heartedly, but also concerned that they were hinging her life on one of his ideas. And, he wasn't exactly renowned for his intelligence.

He sat down in the desk chair, his shoulders heavy with the sudden doubt, and read some of the notes. Where would they even start? Was there even a chance at all? On one of the pages, Lucy had circled the name of a town twice. Araucaria. He'd never heard of that place. Underneath it, Lucy wrote "not in Fiore".

Instead of being relieved from her notes, Natsu felt guiltier. His idea was taking them far from the guild. If it proved to be completely wrong…if the dragons were impossible to find…then he would have taken her far from the guild and her other friends in her last months to live.

He rested his forehead against the cool wood of the desk. He might have fallen asleep there if Lucy hadn't shifted in the bed and asked, "Natsu?"

"I'm here," he said, standing up. She propped herself up on her elbow and gazed at him sleepily. He moved to the bed and sat on the edge, taking his shoes off.

Lucy stretched and touched his back, her hand slipping underneath the vest to touch the warm skin. Natsu flinched slightly at the coolness of her fingers. "Hey, how did it go today?"

"I didn't find anything," he said, slipping under the covers and inching into her embrace. She fit easily and comfortably against him.

Making a quiet soothing noise, she rubbed his arms and said, "It's only the first day, we'll find something soon."

"You're right," Natsu responded. Lucy nodded absently, already slipping back into sleep. He decided then and there that worrying was stupid. He didn't care if finding Grandeeney was a stupid or impossible idea, he would make it work.

He didn't know if he could live if it didn't.

**#23 Doubts**

_(If anyone is interested, the song Cancer by My Chemical Romance is very relevant to this fanfic. Also, sorry for the long break, college can be hectic. Thank you all again for reading and especially for those who review~! They make my day)_


	22. Distraction, Kicked Out

"So, where is this town Araucarion?" Natsu asked, looking over her shoulder at the atlas opened on the library desk. Lucy smoothed down the page. It didn't seem that the book was poured over that often, because the spine was still very stiff and it was hard to keep it open.

"Araucaria," Lucy corrected. "And, it's supposed to be in Bosco."

Natsu moved closer, the bare planes of his chest pressing against her back, and helped her search. She ran her finger across the country, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks and focusing on finding the town. "Isn't that where the fake Salamander was going?"

Lucy paused in her study of the map and turned her head up towards the wall. That's right…Bora had planned on taking her and the other women on the ship to Bosco to sell them as slaves. That had been the first time that Natsu had saved her and had taken her to join Fairy Tail with him. Even if the prospect of disappearing without anyone to care what had happened to her and the feeling of defenselessness when she lost her keys had been terrifying, the memory was one of her fondest.

She half turned to look at Natsu to find him already looking at her. He seemed to be remembering that, too. She said, "We'll have to be careful. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to Wendy, and I'm sure Carla would slice us to pieces with her claws."

Natsu laughed, "I won't let anything happen to anyone."

"I know you won't," Lucy responded. Somehow, they'd ended up in an embrace. Natsu grinned and gave her a long and chaste kiss. She could taste what he had for breakfast and couldn't help but start laughing.

He pulled away, "Hey, what's so funny?"

His sulky pout was too much and she broke into hysterics. He tightened his grip on her when she got weak-kneed, his lips twitching in their pout at her mirth, "What? Tell me!"

"You taste strongly of strawberries and it's funny because, well, your hair is pink and…," she broke off into giggles. He scowled and ran a hand through the mentioned hair.

"It's not pink, it's red," he insisted.

"Hm, whatever you say," she said, laughter still in her eyes though she had sobered up. Pushing away from him and jabbing him playfully in the chest, she said, "Now, would you stop distracting me? We need to find where this town is before all the trains leave today."

She turned her attention back on the book, which had snapped shut when her attention had been diverted. With a sigh, she opened up to the table of contents to find the map again.

"I'm distracting you?"

The mischievous tone of his voice sent off warning bells in her head. She glanced up sharply just in time to see him swooping down on her. With a yelp of surprise, she jumped away and backed around the table.

He followed her around, lifting his arms like a creeper, and repeated, "I'm distracting you!?"

"Wah, Natsu! We need to focus!" she said, retreating another lap around the table.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and sped up his pursuit, "I'm going to get you!"

"You're so childish!" Lucy cried, narrowly escaping an outstretched arm. She ducked under the table, which was a mistake because he was much faster running around the table. She stayed under and tried unsuccessfully to escape out from different parts of the table. After several attempts, Natsu caught her ankle and pulled her out.

By that point, her stomach hurt so much from laughing that she just gave in. He had barely pressed his lips on her wide grin when the librarian rounded the corner. Approximately five minutes later they were sitting on the library step.

"I can't believe you got us kicked out of the library."

**#24 Distraction & #25 Kicked Out**

_(Well, the story is about ¼ done now. What do you guys think so far? And, has your favorite kiss changed? Thanks for reading!)_


	23. Train Ride

Happy snuggled next to Lucy's face, peering down at her with a concerned expression. She wrinkled her nose when his fur tickled her skin, but didn't open her eyes. On the opposite seat of the train, Wendy was watching Lucy as well, her face in her hands and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Poor Lucy," Happy said. "Do you think she will feel better soon?"

Wendy's shoulders sagged, "I wish that I could do something more to help."

Normally this is the point where Natsu would interject something to make the blue-haired girl feel better, but he was currently out of commission as well. He managed to help bring a sick Lucy onto the train, but promptly passed out once it started moving.

In his place, Carla said, "You took most of her pain away, so there's no reason for you to feel bad."

"Only most of it, though," Wendy said with a wistful huff. Carla considered trying to cheer her up more, but realized that anything she said wouldn't really make Wendy feel better. The young dragonslayer didn't want to feel better. She just wanted Lucy to feel better.

Happy put a paw to Lucy's forehead like he'd done approximately every five minutes, "She's burning up again."

Wendy stood up with a clenched fist, "I'm going to try again."

Wendy's magic glowed around Lucy's face, waking the girl up from her uneasy sleep. Her unfocused eyes roved the train compartment and her mouth was tight with pain. Wendy bit her lip and put even more effort into her healing.

"Is it working?" Happy asked at her elbow.

Wendy shook her head and released the spell, "I can't heal all of the sickness. It seems sometimes the side effects are out of my power to completely heal, so I can only lessen the strength of them."

"At least she's not throwing up this time," Happy said.

"It must have been miserable last time for her without me there to alleviate the symptoms," Wendy said. Carla perked up in her seat, noticing that Wendy was starting to get teary eyed.

"Wendy, there was no way you could have known. It's not your fault for not being there," Carla assured her.

Wendy went to respond, but Lucy moaned and their attention was all back on the blonde. She pressed her head back against the bench of the train and whimpered, "It hurts. It hurts really bad."

Before any of them could do much of anything, Natsu shifted to stretch and arm out. Moving carefully to avoid jostling his upset and sensitive stomach, he hooked his arm around her torso and hugged her tight against him,"'s okay…Lucy"

Though her face was still tense with pain, she stopped whimpering and squirming. Natsu kissed her cheek and then passed out again from all the effort of keeping himself from being sick all over his girlfriend.

Wendy settled back onto her bench. Now that Lucy had fallen back into a light sleep and seemed to feel better in Natsu's arms, Wendy was able to let go of some of the guilt enough to watch the landscape zip by and let her thoughts wander.

**#26 Train Ride**


	24. Ugly

Lucy leaned forward to wipe the fog off of the mirror and frowned. The blonde image that looked back at her took all of the joy of a hot shower in a nice hotel had given her. With the combination of being sick for the past week of travel and a lack of strenuous activity in general since she'd been diagnosed, Lucy had lost a lot of body weight and muscle definition.

She pulled on her under garments and then turned to examine herself some more in the still post-shower hazy mirror. Now that she was noticing the effects of her illness on her body, she felt crushed. Lucy didn't consider herself a vain person, but she had always been confident and happy with her body. At the moment she just felt like crying.

Lucy turned to the other side, hoping that maybe her left profile was more pleasing. It wasn't. Leaning towards the mirror again, she noted that her tears were making her face blotch up and cried harder.

If Natsu hadn't chosen that moment to barge into the bathroom, she probably would have receded deep into self-pity, locked the door, and sobbed in the bathtub for the rest of the night.

"Hey, Lucy, have you seen my…," he started, walking in briskly. He stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of her, causing her to flush and try to hide from him. She wasn't embarrassed that he had seen her in her undergarments, but that he'd seen her in her worst state. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick again? Should I get Wendy?"

Lucy sat on the edge of the bathtub, having giving up on trying to hide her body from him, and sighed. It wasn't like she could hide the unfortunate changes to her body forever, anyway. And, it wasn't like Natsu liked her only for her appearance. The thought comforted her already.

"I'm upset because…well, because my body is deteriorating. I used to have a healthy body that I loved, and now I'm this thin, sickly wisp that might break any second. I feel so ugly and weak. I'll probably be completely useless when we fight."

He studied her for a moment, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times as he struggled with what to say, before his face relaxed into a smile. Sitting down next to her on the bathtub rim, he knocked his shoulder against hers, "Lucy, you know there is more than one way to be beautiful. And, you're all of them."

She snorted and covered her mouth because it was such a cheesy thing to say.

"What?" he asked. He knocked his shoulder against her again, "Are you laughing at me?!"

She nodded, unable to say anything because she was laughing too hard. But, after a few moments, her laughter turned into tears and she sank into his arms. He rubbed her back as she sobbed into the crook of his neck. She loved him so freaking much.

"Thanks," she said. Because, even if it had been cheesy, it had been exactly what she needed to hear. He kissed her nose and she was able to smile again, starting to feel cheerful again.

**#27 Ugly**


	25. Frustration, Let's Play

Lucy face-palmed for what had to be the millionth time that day. They'd been searching the town for any traces that her research indicated might be found there, but it was taking much longer than they had originally thought it would. This was mainly due to an over-friendly populace that didn't receive many visitors. Whenever Lucy, Natsu, and the others would appear on a citizen's doorstep, they would smile widely and usher them in for tea.

They didn't have to worry about setting aside money for food, because their hosts kept them well fed on snacks throughout the day. But, Lucy couldn't help the frustration that was rising in her. These people would keep them at their coffee tables for hours on end, rambling about the same four or five subjects. Lucy was well-bred and generally would be too polite to be annoyed, but they'd been asking around for three days now with nothing to show. And, she didn't exactly have a lot of time to dally.

She glanced at Natsu out of the corner of her eye and saw that he seemed to have similar feelings to her. Perhaps he was more annoyed. And, agitated. Natsu had always been a man of action. Swoop in and attack first, because he could make everything work out in the end. But, after sending a hopeful look at her a couple of times the first day, he resigned himself to trying to be quiet.

Lucy appreciated his efforts, but his restlessness was just bugging her even more and her frustration was building. She felt close to exploding. So, after they escaped the house, Lucy made a hasty excuse to run off with Natsu alone. She dragged him behind her, not stopping until they had reached an empty and forested park.

Shoving him against a tree, Lucy pinned him with a kiss. The kiss was rough. She was pouring all her frustration that had been desperate for a release into it and could feel him doing the same. When Lucy retreated, she rested her forehead against his collar bone and panted, feeling much calmer.

Natsu squeezed the arms that were lazily wrapped around her waist briefly and she looked up to meet his eyes. He looked ecstatic, his eyes crinkling when he said, "Let's play."

"Okay," she said with a nod. They chased each other and climbed trees and rolled down the hills until Happy, Wendy, and Carla tracked them down. And, then they all played together, playing a long-winded game of tag that lasted past dusk and far into the night.

Natsu had been declared the champion, proud of his win even after Lucy told him that his prize was to carry the falling-asleep Wendy back to the hotel. Happy followed suit not long after, resting for a moment on Lucy's shoulder and then falling asleep in her arms.

It was a long walk back, but they were still smiling as they collapsed onto the bed. Natsu scooted closer to her, his dark eyes barely visible in the blackness of the room. She ran her fingers along his cheekbones, "Today turned out to be great."

"Yeah," he agreed, moving closer still. "It was fun. We should play more often."

"We will," Lucy promised. "I don't want to waste any time being unhappy. We can search for Grandeeney and have fun at the same time. We'll just have to balance the two."

Natsu agreed again and then closed the distance between them for another kiss. It was long and lazy. They were both worn out and fell asleep almost immediately after that, their noses just barely touching.

**#28 Frustration & #29 Let's Play**


	26. Afraid

"Lucy!"

It was Natsu's voice. She recognized, waking up in a flurry of movement and confusion. It took her a few moments to remember where she was and what she was doing. She was distracted by the pain in Natsu's voice and the desperation in his grip.

There was an uncomfortable heat in his hands and she realized that the fabric of her shirt was melting away under his touch. She tried unsuccessfully to pry his hands away from her shirt, "Natsu. Natsu! What's going on?"

His muscles loosened suddenly and he pulled back to look at her. She had been sleeping under the tree. She hadn't intended to fall asleep, but she had been at the meeting spot for so long. They never should have split up to try to find information faster. Because…looking at Natsu…it was like watching a vase break in slow motion. He had started to fall apart and was making a concerted effort to pull himself back together.

He'd thought she was dead! She understood now. When he came back to the meeting spot, he saw her laying prone on the ground and his mind jumped to what they had both been dreading. Her death.

Understanding, she felt like her own heart was breaking. Is this what she was going to leave behind? Overwhelming and destructive pain? She had never seen the look Natsu had on his face before, and she never, ever wanted to see it there again.

With a choking sob, she launched herself at him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Whispering over and over like a mantra, she told him, "I'm fine, Natsu. I'm fine."

His grip was tight around her again, his muscles standing out in his arms at the strength of it, and he was quivering like a leaf in her embrace. Lucy couldn't stop crying and she felt his hot tears on her neck. She turned her head more and kissed the side of his jaw.

"I'm so sorry, Natsu," she whispered against his jaw. "I was just sleeping. I accidentally fell asleep."

"Don't ever leave me," he begged.

He knew he was asking something impossible. Oh, she wanted so badly to promise him that she wouldn't. She wanted to say she would stay with him always and for it to be true. But, she didn't want to hurt him more with a promise that her uncertain future made her doubt she could keep.

She closed her eyes and said, "I want to be with you forever."

In that moment, holding a shaken Natsu, she had never been more scared in her life.

**#30 Afraid**


	27. Hurt

Lucy stepped into the hotel room and set the room key on the table next to door and removed her jacket. Happy had tackled her when she went to check on him, Carla, and Wendy down at the hotel pool and soaked it. Afterwards, they had tried to convince the blonde to stay and play with them, but she didn't want to leave Natsu alone.

She looked around the room for him and found him sitting on the bed by the window. The light filtering in left him as nothing but a blue-tinted outline. She couldn't see the emotion on his face, but his head was in his hands and he was hunched over.

The 'incident', as she'd started to refer to it as in her head, had happened two nights ago and they were still shaken by it. She watched him, unmoving by the window, and knew that he had been just as frightened by the incident as she had been.

She suspected that he hadn't thought it would hurt that bad, or maybe he just hadn't thought about it at all. This pain was the consequence of loving a dying, fading person. Could he handle it? Could she handle it? Could she deal with him becoming a shell of himself because of her death?

Lucy hated herself.

She felt so selfish, letting Natsu willingly hurt himself like this. For what? For happiness? Was six months of her happiness worth years of his misery? She'd thought originally that he would be upset like everyone else at her funeral, but from seeing his face the other night, she knew that he would die with her. That he would be distraught and self-destructive. He loved her more than she had ever imagined.

Natsu knew this and it terrified him. He'd become silent the past two days and seemed to be lost in thought. Lucy had thought about it at length, too. If he wanted to go back to being just friends to try and lessen the pain for him in the long run, she would understand and let it happen. Her heart ached at the idea, but she loved _him_ enough to be okay with that.

"Lucy," Natsu murmured, still unmoving on the edge of the bed. She nodded even though he couldn't see and made her way around the bed to him. She stooped down to press her lips against his forehead before straightening back up and hugging his head to her chest. His arms came around her waist and he leaned into her.

When Natsu had first kissed her, she shouldn't have kissed him back. She should have turned him down. What had she been thinking, letting them get in this deep? Because, if they continued like this, Natsu would eventually break, but if they cut it off now, she would break. She had never thought love could be such a scary thing.

Natsu's embrace tightened in reassurance, as if he could hear her thoughts and he said, "We'll find Grandeeney. I know we will."

Lucy nodded again because she was worried that she would start crying if she spoke. Then, she rested her chin on his head and they remained like that until the others returned from swimming. Two blue-tinted figures outlined by the light from the window.

**#31 Hurt**

_(Just a warning, the next chapter is going to have cursing in it. A lot. It's going to be fun to write it, haha. Also, I wrote most of the very last chapter today to ensure that I keep going in the right direction and you guys have no idea how much it is killing me not to reveal how everything's going to go down. Gah! This is why I do my Christmas shopping last minute. I can't handle waiting to give things. Anyway, thank you all for the reveiws. They make me smile so much :D)_


	28. Cursing

The sheets made a rustling noise as Natsu shifted. He was getting that prickling, uneasy feeling he got sometimes when he was separated from Lucy. He noticed it had been occurring more and more often since…

He shook his head and shifted again. Lucy had been out for an hour and a half. She'd said something about wanting to get supplies on her own so she could do some thinking. Though he trusted her, it made him nervous to think of her all alone in the busy streets.

He sat forward and peered down at the street through the hotel bedroom window. Dusk was swiftly approaching and the sidewalk was packed with workers returning home at the end of a long day.

Natsu nearly jumped out of his skin when Wendy suddenly spoke, "Natsu?"

He turned to see her regarding him with a questioning stare. The young dragonslayer was sensitive, though it probably wasn't difficult to notice that he was agitated. He forced himself to settle down so he wasn't as obvious.

"Are you worried about Lucy-chan?" she asked, her brow wrinkling. "She has been gone for a while…"

"I am," Natsu admitted, standing from the bed and looking back out of the window. Yellow caught his eye, but when he looked closer he saw that the blonde hair belonged to a young man. _If I don't see her in the next five minutes_, he decided, _I'm going to go look for her_.

He stared intently at the crowd below, counting the minutes pass, without seeing her. With a sigh, he situated his scarf better and headed for the door. When he passed Wendy, he patted her head and said, "I'll be back soon, you keep watch."

On the street below, he walked a little in both directions before he managed to catch onto Lucy's faint smell on the right. It was hard to pull her scent from the other people milling in the street and to hold on to it, but he knew her scent better than anyone's except for maybe Happy or Igneel.

He followed the scent down the busy street and then out of town. His pace quickened as he passed the walls of the city, wondering what could possibly take her this far from the hotel. Flashes of the worst situations in his mind's eye prodded him to walk faster and faster.

"FUCK YOU!"

Natsu broke into a full on sprint, recognizing Lucy's voice and freaked out by how uncharacteristic the words were. Nimbly, he ran through the trees towards her scent, slowing down only when he saw her standing on the edge of a cliff, alone.

"I FUCKING HATE YOU!" she shouted, her shoulders heaving from the force of her emotion as she shouted. For a second he thought maybe she was shouting at someone who was hanging from the cliff or who had fallen over, but her face was directed at the sunset streaked sky.

He took a deep breath and clenched the vest fabric over his heart. She wasn't in danger. She was by herself. And, she was yelling at the sky. She was strange, but she was okay. He approached her quietly, watching her closely with amusement.

"IT'S SO UNFAIR! YOU SUCK SO FUCKING MUCH!"

"YEAH, FUCK YOU!"

Lucy whirled around in shock, jumping guiltily when she saw Natsu standing next to her. Her face blazed with embarrassment, "H-how long have you been here?"

"Long enough," he said, smiling as his teasing made her turn two shades darker. "What are you doing…exactly?"

"I thought it would be nice to walk out here in the forest and, well, when the sun started setting I thought about beautiful everything was. How beautiful life is," Lucy explained, gesturing excessively, but starting to return to a normal color. "And, I got really pissed. Extremely pissed. Why the fuck does life get to be so beautiful and do something so shitty to me!?"

"You're cursing a lot," he observed.

She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, "…It feels good."

He grinned at her and waited for her to return it before turning to the landscape stretching out below them and shouting, "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT TO MY LUCY YOU HEARTLESS BITCH!?"

Lucy laughed as a flock of birds startled and took flight and stepped forward, "I JUST WANT TO FUCKING STAY WITH NATSU, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO FUCKING ASK, ASS-HAT!?"

"Ass-hat? Nice."

"Thanks, I thought so."

They kept shouting until only a thin slice of the sun remained above the horizon. Lucy's shoulders were shaking, and he was concerned that she was crying again. She'd been crying so much these past months and he wished there was a way that he could make sure she never had to cry again. But, when she faced him, she saw that she was laughing.

"Thank you, Natsu," she said. His eyes ran over her face as she stepped into his embrace, wanting to remember the happy expression forever. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips.

"You're welcome, Lucy."

**#32 Cursing**

_(Ahaha, Ass-hat is my favorite insult. On a different note, if you're interested in listening to other songs that relate/sort-of-relate to the mood of this story, another one would be Year of the Cure by Lights! Thanks for reading and reviewing~!)_


	29. Lead

Lucy's back ached as she slumped at the coffee table of the wildly gesturing old lady she'd been listening to for what had to be five hours now. The lady was sweet and adorable, but she, like many people of this town, had a knack for running down tangents. Lucy straightened some and her back made several popping noises.

"That boy can really get into trouble, you know? I told my sister that she had better keep a close eye on him, because he didn't know how to mind himself. I would not be surprised if he were to turn up to be one of those slave masters or if he were to get every girl in the town pregnant…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy could see Happy struggling to not fall asleep. They had drank some coffee, but that had been so long ago that the Exceed was beginning to come off of his caffeine high. Feeling empathetic for her blue teammate, she scooped him into her lap and scratched behind his ears soothingly. Surely the old lady wouldn't be upset if he slept, because that's what cats did after all, right?

It was just the two of them. They had decided that, despite the incident, it was still more time effective to split up. But, to prevent a repeat, they had split up into two pairs, with Natsu being the odd man out. They decided Natsu was okay on his own, because they would certainly be able to spot him if he were to get in trouble. They would just have to follow the destruction.

"Lately, he's got his head full of dragons…been telling-"

Lucy jumped to her feet, upsetting Happy from her lap with a surprised yelp. The old lady tilted her head in question and asked, "What is it, Dear?"

"You…you said something about dragons, right?" Lucy asked, breathless with excitement. At last! At last they might have the lead they'd been searching for.

"Oh, yes, I was talking about those far-fetched stories that man has been telling my nephew," the old lady said. She scratched her chin and looked at Lucy thoughtfully, "Dragons. That's what you asked about, wasn't it?"

Lucy could barely contain herself, despite her good breeding. Standing tall on the tips of her toes and full of sudden energy, she begged the lady, "Yes, yes it is! What's the name of this man? Or, the name of your nephew? What kind of stories? Tell me everything!"

The old lady smiled and began writing on one of the napkins. When she handed it to Lucy, she said, "Here's the names and the addresses of the both of them. It would probably be best for you to ask them. I tuned out most of the stories he told me out since they were mostly nonsense. Not sure why you want to know about it so badly, but good luck, Dear."

"Thank you!" Lucy shouted, tucking the napkin safely in her pocket.

"Why couldn't you just tell us that from the start?" Happy asked, looking unusually cross.

The old lady laughed, "I wasn't about to give you something without working for it. And, besides, I don't get many visitors and I have so many stories to tell."

Lucy grabbed the thunderstruck Exceed, waved goodbye to the old lady, and rushed out of the house. Giving him a little shake, she asked Happy, "Come on, Happy! Hurry up and get us to Natsu!"

Happy's face slid into a scowl, but he did as she urged and they were off searching for Natsu. After about fifteen minutes of hovering over the streets, they spotted him leaning against a fence post, his hand cupped over his eyes. Lucy admired him for a few moments, taking in the line of his jaw and the hard muscles of his chest, before calling his name.

He looked up at them, the frustration in his expression changing to surprise.

"Are you slacking off?" Lucy teased. Natsu opened his mouth to either protest or explain, but Happy had set her down and she cut him off in her excitement, "Natsu! I think we found the lead we've been looking for!"

She laughed as he pulled her into a tight hug, "Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, this old lady wrote down the names and addresses for us," Lucy said. She grinned up at him and saw that his eyes mirrored her relief. They had found a lead. This might actually lead them to Grandeeney. Maybe this wasn't all a wild goose chase. It was too late not to get her hopes up.

"I'm so glad," Natsu whispered, his face closer to hers now. She didn't remember him moving closer. Resting her hands on the sides of his neck, she closed the remaining distance and ignored Happy's mock retching noises as she kissed him.

"I knew that was what was going to happen," Happy groused behind the pair.

**#33 Lead**

_(Hey everyone! Sorry for the long break. I've been sick and also crazy busy. And, it turns out that writing lots of kissing scenes without them getting repetitive is a great deal harder than I guessed it would be. Sorry this chapter was kind of boring, but there's some action in the next one. ;) Also, to a nalu fangirl, of course I noticed! I love all of my reviewers and miss you guys when you don't post for a while and get nervous that I lost you. ): I would respond to your guys' reviews but I feel super awkward and some of ya don't log in so I can't message you back. Anyway, I'm glad to see you back and that I didn't scare you off or lose your interest. No more getting grounded, ya hear? It makes me nervous. :P)_


	30. Bad Vibes

"Can I help you?"

A man peered out from the tiny crack of the barely open door. He had piercing eyes that were so blue that they almost didn't seem real. Lucy paused. Normally she would take over as the words part of the team and politely explain their purpose, but she was getting a strange vibe from this man.

She glanced over at Natsu and, judging by the wrinkle in his forehead, his instincts were similar. Not really understanding why her gut was warning her to be cautious, Lucy smiled as brightly as she could and said, "Hello, we heard that you are something of an expert on dragons? We're really curious about dragons and would like to know more if you would be willing to share with us."

The man's eyes roved over her and her companion's faces, before shutting the door rudely without a word.

"Hey!" Natsu shouted, banging on the door with his fists.

"Please sir!" Wendy asked entreatingly, stepping out from behind Lucy and standing near the door. "We just want information. We're not trouble or anything!"

The man didn't respond. Lucy was about to tell the others to forget it when Natsu's fist sunk into the dark wood of the door. They all froze, staring at the damage he'd done. Lucy groaned, unsurprised.

Inside, there was a small crash and a muffled curse, before the man wrenched the door open fully. The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties with disheveled white-blonde hair and an angry expression. He gestured to the door, "You're not any trouble? I suppose this is polite wherever you come from?"

"How do you know we're not from around here?" Lucy asked.

He paused in his angry inspection of the damage to the door and turned to her, "No one from around here would visit or ask about dragons."

"Why not?" Wendy asked.

"Because dragons aren't real," the man said simply, starting to retreat back into the house. Natsu caught the shutting door with his foot, his expression battle serious.

"Dragons are real," he said with force. He pulled the door from the man's grasp and opened it fully again. "I was raised by a dragon. And, my friends have seen a dragon as well."

"I was raised by a dragon, too!" Wendy offered.

The man hesitated, his eyes roving over the group again. He seemed to struggle for a moment before sighing and waving for them to follow him.

"Raised by a dragon, you say," the man said over his shoulder as he led them down halls with fading wallpaper. The whole place in general was…not in disrepair…but had clearly seen better days. "Which dragon?"

"Igneel," Natsu said. "A fire dragon."

"I was raised by Grandeeney. An air dragon," Wendy said.

"Igneel and Grandeeney," the man hummed to himself.

"Have you ever seen a dragon, Altor?" Lucy asked. If he was surprised that she knew his name, he didn't show it.

"I have," he said. She wanted to ask him more about it, but they'd arrived at two tall French style doors and Lucy was filled with a sudden apprehension. A gust of air conditioned air swirled out of the room when he opened the doors.

Natsu noticed her reluctance to enter the room and sent her a questioning glance. She slipped her hand in his for courage and he stooped to give her a reassuring kiss. With a steeling sigh, she followed the group into the room.

Inside was a man that was so still and looked so old that she thought maybe at first that it was some sort of wax sculpture until he moved. Despite his ancient appearance, his movements weren't difficult or jerky in the least.

"Get down!" Wendy shouted, diving for the floor and pulling Lucy with her. A clawed hand-like contraption swung a hairsbreadth from their heads. She clasped her hands over her head and shouted in surprise at the sudden attack.

Natsu leapt forward with an enraged roar, bringing a flaming fist towards the younger man who had led them to the room. He bounced back uselessly off of an invisible boundary shielding Altor from harm. Altor smiled humorously.

"Why did you attack us?" Lucy asked, looking around warily for anymore threats. "We just want to know about dragons? What do you have to hide?"

"Do you think the dragons want to be found? If your Igneel and Grandeeney wanted you to know where they were, don't you think they would have brought you along, or at least have told you where they were going before they disappeared?"

Natsu growled again, flame erupting around his body, "Igneel cared about me. I don't know why he left, but if he didn't tell me, he must have a good reason not to. That doesn't stop me from wanting to find him. Maybe he's in trouble!"

Altor scoffed at his speech, but Natsu wasn't done. "But, that's not why I'm here today. I'm here because the person I love most is dying and I want to save her. I think Grandeeney is the only one who can do that!"

"Please," Wendy added, desperate tears in her eyes, "if you know where they are at, tell us!"

Lucy touched her key pouch, prepared for another attack. The old man stood on spindly and time-warped legs. He lifted both hands, his palms glowing with a cool, white light.

"Do you honestly think you're the first to search for the dragons with personal reasons such as that? The dragons are a secret that is my duty to keep. Stop searching for them, or I will be forced to stop you."

This was it for Natsu. His flame output increased, the previously damp and cool room began to feel stiflingly hot as his temper got the best of him. How could the man stop him when he was an unstoppable force? Lucy tore her eyes away from the beautiful sight to look for something to help with. Her eyes stopped on an old text that said something about dragons in an ancient language. She didn't recognize the language, but she did remember the word for dragons from her previous research.

She glanced back to make sure that Natsu was still distracting both of the men before quickly slipping the book into her pack. If they made it out of here alive, hopefully this would at least send them in the right direction. It didn't look like these men were going to help them.

The white light on the old man's palms grew until it was touching the ceiling. The material of the roof broke away easily under its touch, raining debris down on them and forcing them to take cover.

Lifting with the light, the old man floated up out of the hole, hovering just above the house. He looked down at them with a sneer, "You are abominations. Mages with the power to kill dragons? And, taught this very magic by dragons? Disgraceful!"

Electricity joined the fire swirling around Natsu as he leapt up to attack the old man. Altor intercepted him mid-air with a brutal kick to the chin.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted.

He managed to catch onto the edge of the broken roof and swing himself up through the gaping hole. Altor and then Happy joined him seconds later and then they were all out of sight, the noises of their fight the only thing marking their presence.

Wendy grabbed Lucy's shirt hem and sent her a questioning look. Lucy patted her head reassuringly and then pulled out a key, calling her spirit crux. The cross-like spirit appeared before her, floating and smiling.

"What can I do for you, Lucy?"

"Can you take this book?" Lucy asked, passing over the said book, afraid that something might happen to it in the destruction that was surely to come. She'd seen Natsu's expression. There was hell to pay. "Can you also look for any information on an old man named Custos? He has some sort of connection with dragons, but I'm not sure what."

After the spirit promised to do both of these things, he poofed back to the spirit world and was quickly replaced by Loke.

"Wendy, let's go help Natsu."

**#34 Bad Vibes**


	31. Marry Me!

The house rocked under his feet and wind whistled in his ears as the golden dragon composed of light soared at him. He retreated a step, his back touching Loke's, and hunkered down. Collecting the fire from deep down in his gut, he took a deep breath and sent a torrent of fire at the insubstantial thing. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The magic collided in the air and there was a split second of silence before a deafening boom shook the house again, the explosion flashing like lightning in the space between him and the old man Lucy had called Custos when she'd joined them on the roof.

Inside his light sphere, the old man was grinning at him in this way that made him bristle. Narrowing his eyes in irritation, he shouted and ran at the old man, jumping over Altor when the man broke away from his fight with Loke to block his mad dash, and dove at him fist first.

Time seemed to slow down the closer he got to the edge of the light. Debris floated around him, almost stationary in their slow movement and reflecting the light. Lucy shouted his name behind him and it sounded funny, long and drawn out. He turned just in time to see her with her arm extended and eyes wide with fear before the light engulfed him.

It felt strangely solid, as if he were swimming through jello. His momentum from his dive slowed and he came to a stop, the light overwhelmingly blinding. He closed his eyes to no difference, the light finding him even then. He started to crawl through the light, realizing with panic that he couldn't breathe. He needed to surface, but how or where the hell was he supposed to do that?

He struggled in the initial direction he'd been traveling, hoping that would lead him to the old man, his lungs burning. When his arm broke out of the thickness, he was desperate for air, black spots forming in his vision. Puncturing the edge of the light wall he'd grabbled through broke the seal and he fell out of whatever had been holding him there.

Natsu spread his arms out as he fell in attempt to slow his descent. He seemed to be falling a long way. Where was he? Was this all inside of the sphere? Or, had he been transported to another place? Where were the others? Was Lucy safe?

A shadow passed over him, interrupting the frenzied worries. He looked up only to gasp in shock. Flying above him was an enormous dragon. It didn't fit the descriptions of any of the dragons he knew or knew of. It was a deep purple with two horns that curled down around its snout. He prepared for an attack, but the dragon didn't even seem to notice him, its eyes looking past him.

His fall took him past hundreds of more dragons, flying lazily and unperturbed, and he wondered if they were really even there. They didn't seem to notice anything around them and he wondered at so many dragons flying in one place without disturbing each other. He wanted to touch one to see if his hand would pass right through, but none came close enough.

Natsu crash landed into a huge dune of sand. The sand was heavy and harder to climb out of than the light with all its shifting.

"Natsu."

The dragonslayer crouched on the surface of the sand and looked up at the old man with a low growl. "Where am I?"

"Inside my light sphere."

The man moved closer to him. Natsu thought something seemed odd and different about him, but he couldn't identify what it was.

"Stop chasing after the dragons."

"No," Natsu said. He felt his fangs lengthening and scales forming on his skin. He was getting too angry.

Custos recoiled from him, hissing, "Do not use that vile magic in my presence!"

"Igneel raised me like I was his son," Natsu said, clenching his fists. "He trained me in this magic and praised me! I don't understand why he would take me under his wing only to abandon me! It doesn't make sense. It isn't like him! I need to find the dragons, so tell me where they are or at least why they're gone!"

The old man studied him with dark eyes, "I do not owe you an explanation."

Flames engulfed Natsu's body once again, "Then I will beat it out of you!"

The sand under his feet roiled, throwing off his balance and tossing him around the unaffected Custos. When the sand settled again, Natsu tried leaping at him. Sand shot up around him and formed a makeshift prison. He scratched and pulled at the bars to no avail.

"Beat it out of me? Foolish boy. I did not want to kill you…," Custos froze, his arm in mid-gesture. "What is Layla's offspring doing?"

Custos' lip curled in distaste before he disappeared in a flash of light. The sand prison fell and everything around him started to fade away. And, then he was falling. His side scraped against something and he instinctively dug his clawed fingers into the surface. The light sphere was gone and everything in the real world was disconcertedly dark compared to where he'd just been.

"Natsu!"

He looked up, realizing that the surface he was clinging to was the side of one of the many cliffs surrounding Araucaria. The blonde peered over the edge, an ornate box tucked under one of her arms, and sighed in relief.

"Natsu, I was so worried! Why would you do something like that, you idiot! You always do reckless things like that, my nerves can't take it!" she shouted, sounding upset though she was smiling.

Happy flew down to retrieve him, but he swiped at his companion, keeping him away.

"I'm not coming up," Natsu said. Lucy's smile slipped off of her face and was replaced by worried confusion. "At least, not until you agree to marry me."

"What?" Lucy looked bewildered. "I thought I already explained to you why I can't…where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

"I'm not coming up until you promise to marry me," he replied stubbornly.

"You can't blackmail me into marrying you!"

"I can and I am!" he shouted back at her, slipping a little when he lost his Dragon Force and his clawed fingers reverted back to normal fingers. Lucy lurched forward a little, as if she could reach him, and grimaced.

"Natsu, you idiot, why are you doing this!?" she shouted, sounding pained.

Natsu said nothing, waving Happy away again when the exceed renewed his attempt to retrieve him.

"Fine," she relented. "Fine, I'll marry you! Now get up here."

He let Happy grab him this time and his companion dropped him next to Lucy. His feet barely touched the ground before she tackled him.

"You're such an idiot," she complained into his neck.

He squeezed her tight to him and kissed the soft skin of her shoulder, "I know."

Then, he looked up and saw the rest of the group watching on. Altor was standing next to Wendy, his expression making him look like a different person. Natsu pulled away a little, "What happened?"

Lucy wiped at her eyes and said, "You tell us what happened to you first."

**#35 Marry Me!**


	32. Angry

Lucy leaned forward after he finished telling what had happened inside of the sphere, her eyes the size of dinner plates, and asked, "He knew my mom's name? Why would he know of her?"

"I don't know," Natsu answered, shrugging deeply. He remembered the irritation in the old man's expression as he had said it just before disappearing and wondered what that meant for her in the future. He didn't know where Custos had disappeared to, and he didn't know if he would come back for them. "He was gone right after he said that."

Lucy's brow wrinkled thoughtfully as she sat back again. They were all still for several moments before she realized that they were waiting for her to talk, "Oh, you want to know what happened on our end."

She casted her gaze around at the others, her eyes falling on Altor who hadn't so much as uttered a sound last. He looked away when their eyes met, sheepishly at the ground. Lucy sighed, her eyes returning to Natsu, and scratched the side of her arm, "After you jumped into the light sphere, the whole thing clouded over. I couldn't see you and…I was really concerned. I wish you wouldn't do crazy things like that.

"But, I couldn't really do anything about it to help you, because Altor freaked out. This huge energy wave came off of him and knocked us all from the rooftop. Wendy and I would have been dead meat if it weren't for Happy and Carla. The yard part that we landed in was a garden of sorts with a huge pond in the center. So, I called Aquarius and…well…"

"She washed away the house," Wendy filled in, her eyes big as she swung her arms wide.

"Not _all_ of the house," Lucy insisted, her face reddening in embarrassment.

"Lucy was the one who did the destruction?" he asked, bewildered when he realized that he hadn't damaged anything aside from the front door. The heat in her eyes was more than her usual when she glared at him and he realized that he wasn't off the hook from his earlier stunt.

"Do you want to know what happened or not!?" she demanded.

He held his hands up in submission and then waved her on to continue. Her frown faded some and she said, "After the house was gone, we were fighting in the ruins. I noticed that Altor was hanging around this box. As if he were guarding it."

She patted the box sitting next to her. It was worn, with golden gilded edges. Wendy smiled and joined the explanation again, "She pointed it out to me. Loke and I pulled his attention away from it enough for her to sneak up and grab it."

"It turns out that something from this box was controlling Altor. He was under a spell or something like that," Lucy rubbed her temple thoughtfully. "When I opened the box, it disrupted the old man's power. Altor stopped attacking us and looked confused. You and Custos had floated down this way, so we ran here. I was afraid you would be hurt."

In his peripherals he could see Altor wringing his hands over and over, but he was focused on Lucy. Her expression held betrayal and anger and he knew it was because of him black mailing her into marrying him. His first instinct was to feel guilty, but he didn't. She would be happy. He knew that she wanted to marry him. He had seen her face the first time he asked her. Though he didn't understand why, he knew that at least.

"I have some things to look over," Lucy mumbled, standing and walked back in the direction of town. He and Wendy stayed back. The younger dragonslayer patted his elbow.

"She's angry at me," Natsu said aloud.

"Yeah," Wendy said. Her expression was questioning when he looked down at her. "Why did you do that? It seemed random."

"It was Gray's idea," Natsu admitted. Wendy's eyebrows furrowed, but she didn't interrupt. "After she turned me down the first time, he told me that I should just wait for a moment when she couldn't say no."

"Why would she turn you down?"

"She said something about not wanting to be selfish."

"Oh," Wendy said. She kicked at a clod of dirt and was quiet for a while before saying, "Gray doesn't understand women. You don't either. You need to make this up to her."

"How do I do that?"

"Ask her again, but be romantic this time."

"Romantic," he echoed. He couldn't see Lucy anymore, her figure had disappeared into the first line of timber. Sighing, he and Wendy went back into town. He thought about it all the way back. He thought about it when he helped back all of their things. He thought about it when they climbed into bed and Lucy let him kiss her briefly on the cheek. He thought about it until it the early hours of the morning and he couldn't stay awake any longer.

He fell asleep with his head nestled against her back and then he dreamed about it.

**#36 Angry**

_(Hope you guys are having a nice holiday!)_


	33. I Will

Natsu was up to something. That was obvious. And, try as she might to focus on translating the dragon book she'd removed from the mansion, she couldn't help but notice him. The dragonslayer was the sort of person who drew attention to himself no matter what he was doing. His voice was loud even when he tried to whisper and his motions, while not inelegant, were big. He was just so full of life and character, that it was near impossible for Lucy - especially Lucy - to ignore him.

Even if she really wanted to. Her feelings were still in turmoil from the previous day and she just wanted to not think about him or what he'd done too much. It was too confusing. But, her mind kept returning to it, no matter how much she attempted to distract herself.

On one hand, she was ridiculously ecstatic at the idea that she would sometime soon be Natsu's wife. Mrs. Dragneel. She shivered with delight at the sound of it. As a rather girly girl, she was not immune to the wishful daydreams about weddings and married life. And, she knew without a doubt that she would never love another person like she loved Natsu. She could feel it in her bones.

But, on the other hand, she was struggling with injured feelings of betrayal and anger. How Natsu had gone about getting her to say yes left a sour taste in her mouth. It had come out of nowhere and was manipulative. Not the way she'd expected him to ever ask her. Planning something like that didn't seem like Natsu at all. Her suspicions were confirmed when she'd walked in on him whisper-begging Wendy to help him with whatever he was up to. She had turned him down, saying something about how asking someone else what to do with his love life had gotten him in this mess in the first place.

Learning that had made her feel a little better, but she was still disappointed that Natsu would go along with a plan like that. She also wanted to find out who had given him that advice so she could throttle him or her. This was just too much stress and she was beginning to get a headache over it.

Eventually she gave up on trying to get any translating done and sat quietly at the table, doodling and waiting for Natsu to come get her. It wasn't long after that that he did. His smile was big and excited and pleased as he strutted up to her. Despite being upset with him, she couldn't help but laugh at his exaggerated silliness.

"Pardon me, uh, Miss. May I request your company for an evening wal- stroll?" he asked, tripping over the fancy words.

This wasn't fair. He was being way too cute and she was way too forgiving and she could already feel some of her anger slipping away. She grabbed onto it desperately, knowing that she had a right to be upset and that the problem needed to be addressed so that something of that nature wouldn't happen again.

"You may, Mr. Dragoneel," she said, standing and offering her arm. He hooked his through hers and led her out the door. The sun was setting and everything was bathed in the last warm, pink rays of sunlight. People they passed on the streets smiled and nodded at them as if they hadn't just completely obliterated an ancient mansion not even a mile out of town.

She had figured he was taking her somewhere nice to eat, but he kept walking past all of the restaurants and out of town. They walked silently for a long time down a dirt path and night had fallen by the time they reached the hill that was their destination. He'd already been out there before, because there was a blanket and a bouquet of flowers waiting for them.

"You're a celestial wizard, right? And, I remember that you said once that star gazing was one of your favorite things," he said, watching for her approval.

Lucy took everything in for a few moments. The clear, open sky that was easy to see so far from city lights. The thick, plaid blanket. The simple bouquet of flowers she didn't know that he knew she liked. His hopeful and expectant smile. She took this all in and then sank to her knees.

Natsu crouched in front of her, alarm evident on his face, "What's the matter? Why are you crying? What did I do wrong?"

"You have no idea, do you?" Lucy asked through her frustrated tears, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands.

"I'm trying, Lucy. I really am, but I don't get it," he admitted, bewildered. And, then sounding hurt, "Are you that against marrying me?"

"No! No, I…that's not it. I really do want to marry you," Lucy said, her head shooting back up in her haste to reassure him and explain herself. "I just…it was really hard to tell you no the first time! I went through all that pain just for nothing. And, why would you trick me that way?! It was so underhanded and dirty!"

"I'm sorry. I was following stupid advice," Natsu said, scratching the back of his neck. "If you want to say yes so bad, I don't understand why you don't just say yes."

"Because, I'm thinking of you, idiot!"

He blinked at her.

She sighed and ran her hand over her face, "Listen. I didn't want whoever you married after I died to have me hanging over her all the time. Do you think the person you spend the rest of your life with wants to be second wife to a girl you knew for a little while in your youth? I want you to be happy, even if it's without me."

"Lucy, don't you realize that isn't helping me?" he asked quietly after a few moments.

She shook her head, "Natsu. Just believe me. It will be better for you in the future. Maybe the far future, but I want to make this easier for you."

"Even if you don't marry me, I will never marry another person. How could I? You're the person I love and the only one I will ever love," Natsu insisted.

"But, how can you know? How can you know that you won't be able to move on? Do you think I want to be a hindrance to that? I already hate myself for the pain I've put you through so far. Please, just let me do this for you," she begged, grabbing his arms and pulling urgently on them. "I have someone who promised to watch out for you in my place when I'm gone. I know she'll come to love you and I bet you'll come to love her, too."

He blinked at her in surprise, "Who?"

"Lisanna," Lucy said, ignoring the jealous jolt in her stomach. She wouldn't be here when it happened, she would have to get over that. She looked down at the ground between them, avoiding his eyes, "I shouldn't have told you about my sickness. I shouldn't have told anyone and let these last few months of mine be happy for you guys. We would still be just friends and the heaviness of my death wouldn't always be hanging over us."

Natsu pulled her to him in a fierce hug and said through what sounded like gritted teeth, "Don't say that Lucy. Don't ever say or think that again. We were never just friends. I'm sorry that it took the illness to force me to say it and fully act on it, but I love you and loved you and would have loved you no matter what. I'm glad you told me so we can try to do something about it. And, this time with you has been a gift to me."

Lucy started crying again, but not out of frustration this time. It was impossible to pin it on one emotion. It was out of relief. And, happiness. Love. Being so in love that it hurt. Natsu sat back and looked at her with so much feeling that her heart jumped to her throat.

"Lucy Heartfilia, will you give me an ever greater gift – the greatest gift- and become my wife?"

She wiped her eyes and nodded, "I will."

And when he kissed her and his familiar warmth swept over her she found herself in awe of how beautiful this man was. He was loyal and protective to a fault. And, while a lot of people considered him stupid, she knew that he was a great deal smarter than credited. She really believed that when he said he would find the Grandeeney and save her that he would.

Natsu didn't make idle promises.

**#37 I Will**

_(Well, they do say third time's the charm. Ah, I've been looking forward to this chapter for so long and I'm really proud of how it turned out. __ We've still got a pretty big journey ahead of us and we're not even halfway yet. _Thanks everyone who's made it this far with me! I love reading all your reviews thank you guys so much for leaving them for me~!)


	34. Fiance, Exploring

Natsu laid on his side on the hotel bed and watched Lucy, still finding it strange and new and wonderful that she was his fiancée. He hadn't known the term fiancée existed, not being one to pay attention to the particulars of relationships, until Lucy told him earlier that day, but he loved it. He loved that she was his fiancée and he loved trying the word out.

"Lucy is my fiancée," he said. She turned her head towards him, looking both amused and exasperated.

"As endearing as it is that you're so excited about it, I might have to attack you if you keep saying that," Lucy said. She returned to her book for a few seconds before grinning goofily and putting it back down, "Natsu is my fiancé."

He glanced at the other bed to ensure that Wendy and Carla were sleeping and the foot of the bed to make sure Happy was still curled up. When he saw that they were and no innocent eyes would be ruined, he rolled over and trapped Lucy under him. She yelped softly, moving the book out of the way just in time to avoid pages being bent and wrinkled.

Bracing himself over her with one arm, he studied her for a moment. Her hair was a little tousled from lying in bed and she had already washed her make up off for the night. Her cheeks were a little thinner than before from being sick, but he didn't think her looks were diminished at all. She was still the most gorgeous person he'd ever seen. He didn't think he would ever get used to her. And, she was his.

She tilted her head to the side and sent him a questioning look, "What?"

"You're pretty," he said. She smiled at him, her eyes fluttering closed as he lifted her chin and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips were soft and submissive, allowing him to push them apart and deepen the kiss. His hand slid down from her jawline to her neck to her collar bone and then hesitated at the invisible boundary line. He wanted to go further and explore, but he didn't want to do anything without her permission and he didn't want to pressure her.

Lucy put her hand over his, her fingers shaking. He pulled away and looked at her face to judge her expression. She looked really nervous, biting her lip, but also determined. Blushing madly, she pulled his hand down past the boundary line.

His eyes widened dramatically and his expression must have looked really funny, because her face tensed as she tried to keep from laughing but failed. Pressing the back of her free hand against her mouth, she muffled her laughter.

"Hey, quit laughing," he demanded, his voice coming out in a strange and embarrassing croak which only served to make her laugh harder. She turned to the side and laughed a deep belly laugh into the pillows. He cleared his throat, "I said quit laughing!"

"I'm…sorry…but….your face," she said, struggling to talk around her laughter. She held her side and laughed even harder when he leaned closer and threatened her. "Ouch…my side…I'm getting…laugh cramps!"

She finally stopped when he moved lower and kissed her collar bone. She fell quiet so fast that it was as if someone had cut her last guffaw off with a knife. Her body turned back towards him and he started sucking on the skin despite the punishment he'd gotten the last time he'd left a hicky.

He didn't get far in his hicky-making when Wendy mumbled and shifted in the other bed. Natsu jumped back, his hand moving away from her chest as if he'd been burned (not that he knew that experience very well). They both froze and listened for signs that the young girl was waking up.

The girl mumbled again and rolled to her side, turning her back to them. Natsu sighed in relief and Lucy giggled. He looked back at her, tempted to replace his hand, but saw that Lucy looked tired.

"We ought to get some sleep. We're leaving tomorrow and will be getting up pretty early," Lucy said. Natsu nodded and shifted to lay next to her.

"Lucy's my fiancée," he whispered. She laughed and smacked him lightly on the chest before curling up next to him.

**#38 Fiancé & #39 Exploring ;)**

_(Lol, laughing Lucy sounds like Stevie Kenarban from Malcolm in the Middle. Anyway, here's a bit of Natsu to show his thinking on the more intimate side of their relationship that Lucy wondered about in the I love you chapter.)_


	35. Proper

Natsu hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her in towards him, stopping her from following the others into the old lady's house. She giggled and tried to escape, "Natsu! What are you – Natsu!"

He growled playfully and backed her against the side of the wall, tickling her sides in attempt to make her weak with laughter, "What's wrong, Lucy?"

"This isn't…" she broke off with giggles when he tickled her again. She fought halfheartedly against him, her protests being mostly words, "This isn't proper. Everyone can see us!"

"So?" he asked, looking down at her. She looked so pleasing at the moment, her face flushed from laughing and embarrassment. He would stop if he thought she were really uncomfortable, but the way she leaned into him encouraged him and he was suddenly struck with the wonderfulness of mutual love.

He loved her. And, out of all the people she could love, out of all the people who might be better suited for her, all of the people who might love her back…she loved him, too. How did that even happen? How had he even caught her attention? He was an idiot. The idea of mutual love was boggling his mind. And, she was…she was Lucy.

Lucy raised herself slightly on her toes and put her hands on the sides of his neck, anticipating his next move. He smiled and crossed the rest of the distance and kissed her. She stood more fully on her toes, pushing herself closer into him and showing him that her love was just as urgent and eager as his.

As he kissed her for as long and hard as he could, he wondered about Lucy's comment of being proper. As if Fairy Tail was proper. As if he was anything close to being proper. Why would she want him to be proper, anyway? That seemed like it would be boring and stiff and distant. And, wasn't that what she had left behind when she left home? When he pulled away, he looked down at her with a wide smile and said, "Lucy. I love you in a very improper way."

She flushed with her whole body this time, "W-what's that even supposed to mean!?"

She was still struggling to process this when Wendy came back out onto the porch, waving her arms, "The old Lady isn't even here! She's gone and it looks like no one has lived here for a long time!"

"What!?"

"But, I saw her. Happy and I were here and we talked to her…," Lucy said, rushing into the house to see for herself, Natsu just a step behind her. Wendy was right. The furniture was all covered in white sheets and there was a thick layer of dust on everything.

"I don't understand," Lucy said, her eyes wide and troubled.

**#40 Proper**


	36. I Win

Lucy slumped against the train window. Outside, workers were leisurely performing some emergency repairs on the train. It was a beautiful day out, the breeze and warm sun combining to create the sort of day that made you long for a comfy little porch to sit on and enjoy the weather and a nice book. They were in no rush to fix the train's malfunction, despite the frustrated urgings of the conductor, so they'd been in the station for a while.

Lucy and the others had declined switching to another train. Lucy had kind of fallen into the decision making role for their group and she had thought this would be a good opportunity for Natsu to have a break and refresh. The attendant smiled when she explained and returned to their compartment with a trolley full of food that he left with them free of charge.

"Hey, Lucy, you still thinking about that old Lady?" Natsu asked, settling beside her now that he'd gotten his fill of food.

Lucy pulled away from the window and straightened some, her expression thoughtful, "Yeah. I can't figure it out. Why would she have directed us to Custos? And, what happened to her afterwards? Is she in league with him? Is she against him? Why did she claim to be related to Altor…I mean Shin…when he has no idea who she was?"

Upon mentioning him, she looked across the compartment at the man. He was sitting next to Wendy and avoided her gaze like he normally did. The more that time passed that he was no longer under the spell, the more that the bashful man could remember from his life previous to Custos's control. One of the first things they'd learned was his actual name.

Lucy was hoping that he'd eventually remember something about dragons and how he came to be under Custos' control spell. That was why she had begged him to accompany them.

"Maybe you should try not to think about it as much. It sounds like you're getting frustrated," Wendy interjected, her eyebrows drawn together with worry. "You've been having a lot of headaches lately and frustration will make them worse."

She pouted a little, looking back out the window again. She hated when they worried about her. It made her feel bad. She didn't want to make them feel like they had to keep a close eye on her and be extra gentle around her. It just made her feel even more weak. Trying to keep a light tone, she said, "Yeah, I'll be more careful."

Natsu's warm hand squeezed her shoulder, "Hey, do you wanna go on a walk? To help take your mind off things?"

"Do you think we'd have time to?" Lucy asked, studying the repairmen, but not knowing enough to estimate how much longer it would take.

"Sure," he grinned, pulling on her arm urgently. "We can just walk around the train yard. That way, we can see when they're packing up and won't risk missing the train."

"Okay," she agreed, allowing him to pull her up from the seat and out of the compartment. She laughed at his enthusiasm, but she wasn't really able to push the thought of the Old Lady out of her head. She was really concerned. What if something bad had happened to her? Should they look for her? Did they even have the time?

They slowed down outside and their hands slipped easily together. Lucy stepped up on one of the tracks and walked next to him, using his hand that she was holding as a source of balance. "Hey, Natsu."

"Hm?"

"Do you think we would have time to look for her? The Old Lady?" Lucy stared down the tracks, down to the point where they seemed to meet in the far distance on the horizon. She heard him groan and stopped when he stopped.

"Lucy." She tried to avoid his eyes, hearing the exasperation in his voice, but he grabbed her chin gently and turned her face to his. "Listen. You don't have to figure everything out. It's okay. We're a team. We can help you come up with explanations and find things. We have no idea where the Old Lady is and won't be able to come up with anything until we find more clues. So, don't drive yourself crazy by obsessing over it. We'll figure things out as we go, when we can. Okay?"

She puffed her cheeks.

"Lucy? Okay?"

She puffed them bigger and he laughed.

"You're so stubborn," he said, stepping closer to her so that their bodies were touching. With her standing on the rail, she was almost a half a head taller than him, so it was her who had to be pulled down by the shirt for a kiss. All of the air puffed out of her cheeks into the kiss and she would have lost her balance if it weren't for Natsu's grip on her.

He slipped his tongue into her mouth and the kiss quickly turned into a battle. She put up a good fight, trying to get dominance with dirty tricks, like rubbing her body against him and tugging on his hair. But, like pretty much all of his battles, Natsu won. He had never been so fierce and commanding in a kiss before and she found herself going jelly legged. She sagged into him and submitted to his kiss.

"I win," he said triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah," Lucy mumbled. She hid her flushed face in the crook of his shoulder and struggled to recover. She knew this side of his personality, but she had never been kissed like that. She liked it. She really, really liked it.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Lucy said. She paused, then, smiling, "But, you should carry me, anyway."

Natsu turned around and let her climb onto his back. He walked them back in the direction of the train. The workers were starting to pick up their things, so it seemed they had perfect timing.

After a few moments of quiet, Natsu said, "You know, I really meant what I said earlier. You don't have to do everything yourself. You spend so much of your time translating that book…when was the last time you wrote anything?"

Lucy played with the collar of his shirt, more than a little touched by his concerns, "It's okay, Natsu. Really. With the sickness, I'm even weaker than usual. So, this is my way to contribute to our group. I'm the one we're working to heal, so it's my responsibility."

"You're not weak," Natsu said.

She didn't respond.

"Lucy," he pressed. "As the winner of the kiss, I say that you aren't allowed to translate the book or try to figure out what happened to the Old Lady or anything else until after your wedding."

"Don't get so full of yourself!"

He laughed, "Come on, promise me you'll relax until after the wedding."

"Okay," Lucy said. She slipped her hand down his collar and rubbed the skin over his chest, feeling his heart beating. "Thank you, Natsu."

**#41 I Win**

_(A lot of people mentioned that the chapters are short. Some can get long, but I like to keep them short so they have one main theme that fits with that kiss (or kisses) and because there are going to be a little under a hundred chapters (some kisses are combined in a single chapter). I will work on making them longer, though, if you guys would really like that. I'm open to feedback (: Uh, also, the next chapter is one of the reasons this has a 'T' rating. I'm not gonna say more than that, heh.)_


	37. No, I Win

"Hey, Natsu," Lucy said with her back to him. She locked the deadbolt on the hotel door, so that even those with a key couldn't get in, before turning to him. He backed up, the look on her face making him extremely concerned. She paused at his reaction and laughed, "What's the matter?"

"You're making me nervous," he admitted and she laughed again.

Leaning forward as she resumed walking to him, she fixed him with a predatory stare that made his breath hitch in his throat. He backed up more until the back of his knees hit the bed and there was nowhere for him to go but down. She stopped just in front of him, "Am I?"

"Y-yeah," he cleared his throat so he didn't sound so much like his wimpy Edolas counterpart. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer. Smiling instead and slipping her hands under the hem of his shirt and running her cold fingers over his abs. He gasped and Lucy looked really pleased, but then it just started to tickle and her pleased smile disappeared.

"Hey! Why're you laughing!?" she asked with a pout, pulling her fingers away.

"Because it tickles?" he answered uncertainly. Wasn't that what she'd meant to do? He was starting to get concerned again. In the matter of a few moments, Lucy's expression changed from self-conscious to nervous to angry and then lastly to threatening.

Brandishing her fingers, she tickled him with a more concentrated force. Natsu tried to escape, but he was trapped against the bed. His knees buckled under him and Lucy followed him down as he fell, still ruthlessly tickling him.

"Lucy…Lu…Lucy stop!" Natsu shouted between his laughter, squirming to get away, but afraid to hurt her if he used too much force.

"I was trying to seduce you, you jerk!" Lucy said, letting up on the tickling.

"Seduce me? What does that even mean?" he asked.

She covered her eyes for a long time and taking deep breaths. Was she angry? He hoped she didn't pull her hand away to reveal an Erza-like expression. He'd never been so confused before.

When she did finally pull her hand away, her face was really red, but her eyes were determined. It reminded him of when she let him touch her…he stiffened under her. Was she going to…?

"I'm just going to go for it!" she proclaimed. In one smooth motion, she slipped her fingers under the hem of her own shirt and removed it. Natsu froze. He'd seen her in swimsuits before and even underwear, but this was the first time he'd seen her in one of those super lacy and revealing bras.

He didn't have much time to gawk before she dove forward and started wrenching his shirt up. At first he tried to stop her, but then, wondering why the hell he would want to stop her, he helped her slip it over his head. He didn't even have a chance to throw the shirt to the side before she descended on him again, so he ended up turning his attention back to her and leaving the shirt around his head as he returned her kiss.

When he tried to take over the kiss, she slipped her tongue in and forced him back into submission. His mind was spinning. In all their previous kisses, he'd been the boss, but he was struggling to regain his bearings. She smirked down at him triumphantly after pulling away and he felt a little dizzy.

"I win this time," she said.

"Win?" he repeated stupidly, still dazed. Then, after a few seconds, her words sunk in. He grinned and she looked apprehensive.

"Natsu…!" she started to warn, but it was too late. He rolled over to pin her under him, but they were too close to the edge and tumbled off onto the floor. Groaning, Lucy complained, "I'm in love with an idiot."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, helping her up.

"It's okay," Her face softened. "But, I think you might have to read some books before we get married."

Then, after a pause, "I think I might need to too."

**#42 No, I Win**

_(Lol, I'm kind of embarrassed. Sorry it took me so long to update!)_


	38. Punishment

Lucy whined softly, rubbing the back of her aching neck and mentally cursing the pink-haired buffoon who had forced her to hide. He'd made her promise not to work on translating the book or anything of that manner until after their wedding, but that wasn't for another couple of days. It seemed too long to wait with the book calling to her.

Natsu had noticed her discomfort with abstaining from researching and had tried to help by attempting translating himself. But, translating was a difficult business and watching him struggle was making it even worse.

So, Lucy had waited for him to be distracted. Which, thankfully didn't take too long. This is Natsu we're talking about. While he and Happy spazzed out over the delicious chocolate mints the hotel attendants had left on their pillows, Lucy snatched the book and disappeared as inconspicuously as she could.

Not wanting to waste any time, she rushed to the hiding spot she'd found ahead of time. Wendy, while hesitant to help in her promise breaking, had agreed to cover for her when Natsu noticed her absence. She didn't want to worry him into thinking something bad had happened to her. She felt guilty enough.

Too much guilt. It was distracting. Despite her wishes to get a lot of work done, she couldn't help but whip her neck around at every sound, expecting him to find her at any moment. The guilt was even churning her stomach. Okay. Maybe her stomach was already upset that morning, but it felt even worse now that guilt was chewing away at her.

It got to be so bad, that she wasn't even that upset when he found her. In fact, she couldn't even pout when swung open the supply closet door and pointed at her accusingly. The relief that her guilt was over eclipsed it.

"Hey, Natsu," she greeted on an exhale.

"You promised!" he shouted.

"I know. I'm sorry," she said. She probably would have gone back to the hotel room in a few moments. The desire to translate the book and figure things out had finally lost to how contrite she felt.

"Now I'll have to punish you," he said, crossing his arms and nodding.

"I know, I'm so so-," she started, ducking her head in shame. Her head snapped up when she realized what he'd said, "Wait. Punished?"

With a decidedly terrifying expression, Natsu stepped towards her with exaggerated menace, "That's right."

"Natsu…" She stood slowly.

"Accept your punishment and it'll be over quickly," he said with a cackle.

"Wah!" she shouted, trying to rush around him. He hooked his arm around her waist and prevented her escape. She struggled in vain to slip out of his grasp, and breathlessly protested, "No! Natsu, lemme go!"

He laughed evilly, hoisted her over his shoulder, and took off. She stopped struggling in favor of clutching onto him with one arm and covering her mouth with the other. His shoulder in her stomach didn't feel good on her upset stomach, but he wasn't hurting her on purpose.

When she was felt confident enough that she wouldn't throw up when she opened her mouth, she said, "Natsu, it hurts."

He adjusted her position immediately so that it was her lower ribcage pressed against his shoulder, but he didn't slow down, taking both of them outside.

"Natsu, what're you doing?"

He didn't answer, so she looked over her shoulder and saw that they were quickly approaching the decorative pond in the hotel's yard. She gripped his neck tighter.

"Natsu, what're you doing!?"

He laughed evilly again, his hand slipping down to cup over her rear to hold her better just as he took a running jump off the end of the dock. She only had a few seconds to scream and plug her nose before the water enveloped them. He let go of her after they'd submerged and she stood up beside him with an angry splutter.

"You're lucky the water is this deep!" she said, tapping her chest where the water line was. "Some places just have it for decoration! It could have been only two feet! You could have killed us!"

He shot her a skeptical look, "Why would there be a dock if it were only two feet?"

"For decoration!" she shouted, frustrated. After taking a deep, calming breath, she rubbed the side her cheek shyly and said, "You know, you can touch me more."

"What?"

She flushed. Damn, this moron was determined to embarrass her with his thick-headedness. "I mean, when you touched my butt just now…that's the first time since when we were fighting Kain. And…well…both times have been on accident."

"Oh," he said. She dared glancing at him and saw that he looked kind of bashful himself. He gestured vaguely, a note of fear in his voice, "Erza said I had to be a gentleman."

Lucy shuddered a little, imagining how that conversation had gone down. She imagined it had been very one-sided and very threatening. Smiling a little at her friend's misguided protection, Lucy said, "Natsu, we're getting married. You can touch me. It's okay. I'm honestly getting tired of initiating everything."

"I can?"

Her smile slipped away when he stepped closer. She splashed water in his face, "Not when you're making a face like that!"

"I'm gonna get you~!"

"WAH! NATSU!"

Her splashes didn't slow him in the least and she couldn't retreat fast enough. Not that she was trying all that hard. She fell into him easily when he caught her arms just below the elbows and kissed her laughing mouth. She melted into him like sugar and lost herself in his warmth, his kiss making her giddy like always.

This was supposed to be punishment? She couldn't wait to see what he considered a reward.

**#43 Punishment**


	39. Irresistible, Vulnerable

"Natsu!" Lucy admonished with exasperation after he'd goosed her. Now that he had the go ahead, he couldn't stop touching her. Or stop wanting to kiss her. It was hard to remember that he was trying to space out the kisses. He could smell her strawberry lip gloss and it was like her pink lips were _begging_ him to kiss her.

With a soft growl he pulled her back against him and kissed the side of her neck. He heard her breath hitch in her throat and pressed the kiss harder against her skin, closing his eyes. Natsu had already kissed her earlier that morning in the pond, but she was so irresistible he couldn't help himself.

He knew that slowing out his hundred kisses wouldn't really extend her life, but he started to panic anyway, his heart beating a mile a minute, when he realized that he was already almost halfway through his kisses.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked breathlessly. She squirmed a little in his tightening grip, but didn't try to break away. She seemed to sense the change in him, reaching up to thread her fingers in his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and snuggled his face deeper into the curve of her neck, willing the tears to go away. His muscles were tense and restless, his instinct to fight what was causing him distress confused by a nonphysical enemy.

He didn't want to let her go. Not ever. If he could stand like this for the rest of his life, with her reassuringly solid and _real_ body close in his arms, he would be happy. So, he clung to her, trying to soothe his own stupid fears that she would disappear once he stepped back.

"Natsu," she said again, her voice breaking this time. He could smell her tears, but she was the one who was comforting him, "It's okay, Natsu."

He listened to her quiet hums and focused on relaxing his body. Slowly, his grip loosened as his heart rate calmed down. Lucy turned in his arms when she had the space to and pressed her face into his chest, continuing to hum.

"I'm sorry," he said. He was supposed to be her courage. The strong one. The support. This wasn't like him. He had never felt as vulnerable as he did these past few months. It was terrifying. Lucy leaned her head back and looked up at him.

"Don't be," she said, taking his face in her hands. She traced her thumbs over his cheekbones, her heart in her eyes as she met his gaze, "I love you so much."

Then, she kissed him softly and sweetly and Natsu was struck by how something could be both wonderful and painful. How he could feel broken and whole at the same time. Life was stupid.

"I love you, too," he said.

Life was so stupid.

**#44 Irresistible & #45 Vulnerable**

_(Man, emotions and feelings can be so unbearably big sometimes. I like exploring Natsu's more vulnerable side, since we don't really see it that much. He's actually pretty reserved.)_


End file.
